Jack London's To Build A Fire

The man represents the fraction of society that doesn't respect nature. He doesn't understand the power of nature because he is oblivious to it. On the other hand the dog was "told a truer tale than that was told to the man by the man's judgement." The man "did not know cold. Possibly all the generations of his ancestry had been ignorant of cold, of real cold." "The was no keen intimacy between the dog and the man." The man and the dog are together because the man needs the dog, and the dog has no choice. They have no emotional connection between them because the dog is used as a slave. In one part of the story the man uses the dog to test the trail and make sure that it is safe. The dog has more inherent knowledge about the area, all of his "ancestry knew" about the cold and the dangers of extreme cold. He also had a warm "natural covering" to keep him safe from the weather. The man was not used to the cold. He "was without imagination. He was quick and alert to the things of life, but only the things, and not the significances." He also was stubborn for his neglect to take advice.

There are walls that block people from seeing what’s on the other side, but they need soar over the wall and break through if they want to see what’s on the other side. Writers uses realism and figurative language to express life’s obstacles and extremities. London uses an emotionless tone through the lens of naturalism to convey that nature does not care, already mapped out the man’s fate and that man does not have free will going against nature. Bishop utilizes symbolism to express vivid imagery to emphasize the idea of discovering truth or reality of anything. Wharton manipulates metaphors and similes to clearly express the ironies in the story of how humans can resort to rash extremities to conceal the truth, while finding a way to “freedom”.

In “To Build a Fire,” Jack London presents the story of a man against nature as he tries to survive in the harsh winter of the Yukon in the early 1900’s. He begins a nine-hour hike through, temperatures as low as -75 degrees Fahrenheit, and he plans to meet up with friends in the area. With him is a local husky, with whom he has little companionship. The narrator builds a fire to warm himself. However, as the fire starts to reach a good warming point, snow falls and douses the fire. Finally realizing that things are getting drastic, the man starts running for the camp in desperation, with hopes of warming his body and possibly getting help. Eventually though he falls from exhaustion. While on the ground, he falls asleep and

The old man at Sulphur Creek provides a supporting role in the story. He is repeatedly brought up throughout the story when the traveler recalls the advice he was given. “The man was extremely serious when he said that no man should travel alone”(Jackson ). His advice and warning are what creates tension to the story. The traveler brushes off the old man’s advice and says the old man probably couldn’t do handle it because old men are “womanish” (Jackson ). As the traveler continues his journey he realizes that being alone and traveling in such cold weather is dangerous. When he makes the fire the first time he makes it under a pine tree. The snow from the tree falls on the fire taking away the warmth he needed to reheat his body. The second time he tries to make the fire he couldn’t hold on to the matches. The matches fell on the floor and he says how if “he had a companion on the trail he would be in no danger” (Jackson ). He recalls how if he was traveling with someone the companion could have built the fire. “Now, he must build the fire again, and this second time he must not fail” (Jackson). Later, he says “perhaps the old man on Sulphur Creek was right. If he had a companion on the trail he would be in no danger now” (Jackson ). He also understands how the world is more instinctual instead of intellectual. He doesn’t realize until later that there might be a situation which he cannot

The textual evidence of the setting is significant to the story, To Build a Fire, written by Jack London because without it we would not know how severe the man’s situation was. In the story, London shares the old man is hiking on the Yukon trail which is located around the Alaskan, Canadian border so we can already infer the temperatures are going to drop far below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. In, To Build a Fire, London explained that although it was a cloudless day, you could still not see the sun in the sky which told us that it was most likely difficult for the man to know what time of the day it exactly was so he wore a watch which in the beginning of the story read nine o’clock. Throughout the text London also gave more specific details and

However, the illusion is far greater in the story “To Build a Fire” as the character is figuratively absorbed by the environment, while only one of the men die in “The Open Boat”. Furthermore, the control of the environment on the characters is immense in the story “To Build a Fire”, “He was losing in his battle with the frost. It was creeping into his body from all sides.” (1057) The environment literally takes control of the man’s fate, while the men in “The Open Boat” are pushed around a little less dramatically, “The wind bore coldness with it, and the men began to shiver. Holy smoke! Said one, allowing his voice to express his impious mood” (998). In addition, the tone or mood of both stories differs even they both are controlled by the environment. The tone of “To Build a Fire” is frightening as the cold arctic air takes hold of the man, “A certain fear of death, dull and oppressive came to him……it was a matter of life and death with chances against him” (1056). Moreover, the story “The Open Boat” is slightly less dramatic as all but one man makes it shore safely. Finally, the environment proves that free will is an illusion in both short

Literature has always been a means to not only tell a story, but to expresses one's feelings and beliefs. Authors use many unique ways to deliver a theme, and sometimes they do it quite spectuarly. To Build a Fire, by Jack London, is a great example of this. It is a story littered with a plethora of valuable messages and themes displayed in meaningful ways. The most prevalent theme in the story is that humans are completely outmatched compared to nature and that they are arrogant to its true power. The way Twain portrays this is through repeated lines. These repeated lines promulgate the main theme of human arrogance and the power of nature throughout the story.

The theme of “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is that animal instinct overpowers reason in survival situations, and it relates to the theme of The Call of the Wild because Buck is better able to survive in Alaska when he begins to use and trust his instincts. This story describes the events of a man and his dog traversing through Alaska to reach a camp; unfortunately, the man does not reach his destination and perishes due to the harsh temperatures. During his journey, the man attempts to build a fire several times to warm himself up to combat the cold and numbness he begins to feel. However, after one time in particular, when the man fails to build a fire and burns himself, he becomes mad and envious of the dog’s ability to survive in such

In “To Build a Fire”, the author Jack London uses three fires to express the overall theme of pride. The unnamed man goes on a journey in freezing temperatures which leads him to make stupid decisions. The first fire the protagonist creates restores his pride he has in himself. London states, “for the fire was beginning to burn with strength”.

The story “To Build a Fire,” by Jack London, is set in a freezing Yukon and he uses the descriptive language to give a glance into the harsh weather which in return, gives the plot better understanding.. The choice, I believe, is to give a mood that would allow the setting to develop slowly with anticipation. London gives a dogs instinct that like a dog it can since danger nearby.

You should never dive into life or death situations unprepared and ill informed on how to take action given a common problem you could come across because it really could be your life on the line. Actions are the main factor in your survival and because of that fact, survival is your own responsibility. Alternatively, there are some situations where you really have no control and are at the mercy of nature. But, regardless people should be held accountable for their actions in situations that deal with life and death because your actions directly affect you. Your decisions also affect other people, for instance, in a story where a German caver needed to be saved the operation to extract him from underground included 728 people who weren’t even payed in the end.

The man is hiking for nine hours trying to get to a camp where his buddies are waiting with a fire. He gets wet and has to warm up. The man tries to kill the dog but runs away and watches the man slowly accept his fate and die. The central idea of this story is that arrogance is no match for the power of nature.

Jack London once said that “You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” One of his greatest works “To Build a Fire” is a stellar example of how Jack London made this quote come to life since London literally went to the Alaskan Klondike to find his inspiration. London’s’ work relies heavily on the struggle between man and nature, brings to light countless realistic features of an important time in American history, and it features Darwinist thoughts and ideas that were introduced during this time period.

Discussion of the theme of Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire” The theme (man against nature) as seen in Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire,” provides the reader with many discussion topics. Topics such as man’s losing battle against nature, the arrogance of man, and also the perseverance of man are all discussed in this short story. This story has a theme of man against nature which will be discussed in this paper.

My choice is for Jack London’s short story “ To build a fire”. I have always had a huge interest in great extremes of nature such as unpredictable floods or hurricanes or earthquakes or severe temperature changes which strongly influence the course of ordinary human life and cause people to show completely even unknown to themselves hidden deep in daily living qualities. I consider nature is a living matter that can react to the negatives provided by humanity in the forms of violent wars or conflicts or сareless attitude to natural resources or landscapes. Abnormal weather conditions or extremes are nature’s lessons to show humanity the fragility of our existence and thereby compel to respect the world of nature that was created not only for