Character Analysis: To Build A Fire

The short story "To build a Fire" by Jack London, tells about the relationship between man and nature. The story takes place in the Yukon during one of the long night. The main character who is unnamed travels with a dog along a small trail to a mining camp. The man leaves against the advice of a local and after a short time realizes that he should have waited. The temperature is extremely cold because the mans spit freezes before it hits the ground. The main obstacle of his journey is the many covered springs that mean death to whoever falls into them. The man sends his dog in front of him to make sure that the trail is safe. Eventually the dog falls into one of the springs and gets his paws wet.

die!”. By telling this story Douglas was able to make plain the idea that even an old

Rioting against the capitol – within the next few chapters or so I believe that there will be riots occurring within the districts. Based on the trailers from the actual movie that released 2 summers ago it shows that a lot will happen in the story. From the previous hunger games novel there was 2 winners when it should’ve only been one. The fact Katniss and Peeta found a way around the system shows that the districts in some way, can fail the capitol. My prediction seems to be true, said by the President that there has been uprisings lately due to misconceptions.

“The Sound of Color” opened my eyes to the intricacies of American Sign Language. My only experiences with Deaf families and Deaf communities comes from the book “Burn Down the Ground” by Kambri Crews and the information I learned in CDS 201. Needless to say, I have a lot to learn. Uhlberg’s description of all the different ways people can display their sex, geographic origin, and personality through their use of sign enlightened me. I can vividly imagine a person who is shy, signing in a reserved, guarded and confined fashion, and then I see the person who is outgoing, signing in an expansive, full bodied and overly expressive way. Although people speaking in ASL may not have an audibly loud or soft voice, I now understand

Dogs and man have been coexisting for centuries in many different settings, both welcoming and harsh. To Build a Fire, written by Jack London, shows the thoughts of man while trying to survive in the bleak Alaskan cold. In the Call of the Wild, London embraces the instincts of sled dogs in a masterful depiction of the Alaskan wilderness. To Build a Fire and the Call of the Wild have many similarities in design but they do also have prominent differences.

One thing that leads the man to his death is his arrogance. The man of Sulphur Creek told the guy that it was not safe especially since the weather gets so cold. “ That man from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in the country. And he had laughed at him at the time!(pg 524)”. In the end right before the man dies he knew that he was dying because he didn’t listen to the man of Sulphur Creek. ” You were right, old hoss; you were right,” the man mumbled to the old-timer of Sulphur Creek”(pg 534).

This quotation tells us that the man had remembered the old man’s warning and what it cost him after he failed to listen. Right before this excerpt the man had fallen into water up to his knees and he desperately needed to

The man had no imagination and only understood facts. He knew it was very cold and his body was numb, but he failed to realize the danger. A newcomer with no experience, he thought he was invincible. Neither the "absence of sun from the

“To Build a Fire” is a short story written by Jack London. It is viewed as a masterpiece of naturalist fiction. “To Build a Fire” features a miner who is traveling to the Yukon Territory with a dog as his companion. The miner is the protagonist and the dog companion is called the foil. The dog plays off of the traits of the protagonist. “The central motif of “To Build a Fire” concerns the struggle of man versus nature.” (Short Story Criticism) The most argued point in the short story is the reason of the protagonist death. “Some critics believe that it was his lack of intuition and imagination that lead to his death, while others say that he dies because of panic.” (Short Story Criticism) The protagonist in “To Build a Fire” struggles in

Fire is a symbol that cannot be described in one word. Fire represents destruction, death, hostility, unpredictability, and the potential for limitless violence. Fire, however, also has a good side to it. Fire can be health, hospitality, control, food, shelter, light, and strength. With these characteristics in mind, fire has a number of different connotations. Many of these connotations can be found in one book. Fire, in William Golding’s book, Lord of the Flies, is a complex symbol, representing anarchy and the darkness inside of us, civilization and the light in all of us, and hope, the constant motivator for our survival.

“To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a short story about a man traveling through the Alaskan Yukon to meet up with his friends for lunch. The author keeps the character nameless and refers to him only as “The Man” which is used to show a connection between humanity and nature. The story shows the hardships the man goes through to get to his destination through the Alaskan Yukon, yet unfortunately doesn’t make it. The conflict is a man versus nature theme which contrasts strong and direct relations of the hardships in nature. Throughout this analysis, I am going to explore the conflict between the man and the merciless nature he has to go through before his death.

This message may come across as harsh and sad given the inevitable certainty that death will eventually catch up to all of us, but the subsequent words are benign. Initially, the man’s death appears to have occurred very recently, nevertheless the underlying pledge period when she mourns for twelve months and a day displays her unwavering diligence, commitment, and devotion towards her lover, showing how much she cared for him. From this, we are able to discern the belief that graves become “unquiet”, illustrating the ancient belief that excessive grief interferes with the peace of the dead, hence why her lover is upset for being disturbed. In archaic folklore, a constant concern when dealing with death is trying to ensure that the individual

The son next tells his father how wild and grave men also struggled with death. Wild men spent their lives frivolously, wishing time on its way. They learn when it is too late that they hurried time too fast and now they cannot recapture what they so wantonly spent. Their lives were foolishly wasted. The son also mentions grave or serious men who review their lives with a swift lucidity when death is upon them. These solemn, sober men now realize life could have been more joyous had they been a little more "blind." If life is taken a little less seriously, one "could blaze like meteors and be gay."

The narrator negated the advice given to him that, "no man should travel alone in the Yukon when the temperature is sixty degrees below zero." He failed to heed to the advice because he thought of how he had saved himself from the accident, and had built the fire alone. This was pride ruling him not knowing that, he was risking his life. His arrogance made him believe that he can make it all alone, and alive. The main character’s poor decisions led to his death. He was not compatible with the cold weather, and thus could not make it alone as his pride, and arrogance made him believe. His arrogance caused his death, because he imagined that he had the ability to travel alone in the harsh cold weather, and ignored the advice given to him. This instance of the narrator dying, because he thought

One of the most prominent facets of the man’s personality is his overwhelming arrogance. The man is a newcomer to the Yukon territory or “chechaquo”, and is inexperienced in the customs of the land. The man believes that he will be unaffected by the harsh conditions and does not seem to grasp the grave reality of the situation. This characteristic is displayed early in the story, when the man rebuffs the old timer’s warning advice and later mocks the old man and his caution of the danger of traveling in the freezing temperatures, especially without a partner. “Those old-timers are rather womanish, some of them, he thought” (1210). Despite the likelihood that the old-timer has spent his lifetime in the area, the man considers his advice to be weak and believes, arrogantly, that he is superior in his masculinity and abilities. Eventually, the man realizes that he should have listened to the words of the old man in Sulphur Creek. Further, the man’s arrogance is displayed again when he ignores the warning signs that the environment is not suitable for such a long solo trek. Despite the incredible cold, the man fails to comprehend just how miniscule he is compared to nature. “…the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all made no impression on the man” (1205). It is this arrogance that limits the man’s ability to grasp how insignificant his life is compared to the great power of