When one decides to look past the flowery language and romanticized ideas present in literature and society, it becomes apparent that nature is a cold, brutal, and unforgiving place. The comfort that comes from believing each individual holds a special place in life is belittled by the sad truth that the universe is not too concerned with whether or not each person on the planet lives or dies. The trend of naturalism that appears in American literature during the post Civil War era capitalizes on this way of thought, and brings out themes of the cruelty of the world in a matter-of-a-fact way. Ultimately, Jack London’s To Build a Fire is a stark but realistic presentation of man and the natural world that displays the characteristics of naturalist writing. …show more content…
In To Build a Fire, London paints a landscape of coldness and hardship, where man must use extreme caution or be killed by the elements. Despite these brutal conditions, one simple phrase is continually repeated: “It is very cold.” This use of a casual statement when referring to a life threatening condition is an obvious characteristic of naturalist style. Furthermore, the narrator progresses through the narrative with a relative indifference in relation to the events that befall the man in the story. As the man dies freezing, it is described in the text as simply “drowsing off into what seemed to him the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known.” London obviously placed a great focus on being realistic with matters concerning man’s relationship with the
To Build a Fire is a story is a perfect example of the writing genre Naturalism. It contains elements like survival depends on instinct, nature is impersonal, man lacks free choice, and heredity and environment direct and influence our lives. In the story nature is the antagonist and is very impersonal, as it is in life. The dog
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
In Jack London's “To Build A Fire” the story follows a man and his dog in the Klondike and their obstacles of trying to get to the boys which are his compatriots. The story revolves around the winter and how mankind reacts to the wild. The author uses nature to illustrate the poem’s tone by vilifying nature and using it as an obstacle.
In “To Build a Fire” The man goes about what he perceives as a modest journey (London uses exploration to capture masculinity) with lots of risk, but this journey turns treacherous when he gets wet and is unable to make a fire to dry himself, and warm up. The author tells us that this character had been warned about traveling by himself in such cold temperatures by a local,
To Build a Fire is a story about a man who doesn't listen to anyone but himself and freezes to death. Jack London based the story in the Yukon, Canada. There was a ton of snow and it is -75 degrees fahrenheit far too cold for people to be out there. There are things that he could have done to save his own life but the things were too hard for him to do. One thing that would have most definitely saved him is he could have killed the dog and used him as warmth but he couldn’t so in the end he died and the dog lived through the night.
Readers of all ages, literature lovers, and book fanatics often find conflicts within their own lives just as the characters of the stories they read do. Some are able to find a way to overcome and conquer, while others get stuck behind or can not find a way to beat them. In Jack London’s short story called “To Build a Fire,” the main character conflicts with mother nature, who keeps tearing him down at every possible point. The main character, who is only referred to as the Man, is battling his way alone through the harsh temperatures of the Yukon. On this journey he runs into many obstacles and challenges. The Man does not listen to the advice he is given, leading to his inevitable death at the end. The most notable theme London builds
Jack London's to build a fire illustrates strong forms of naturalism in the journey of a man and his dog through frozen tundra of the Yukon valley. The story tells the tale of a newcomer to the Yukon as he travels an a cold early morning. He was forewarned of the danger of traveling alone but chooses to regardless. This is simply because “he was without imagination”(3), meaning he was aware that it was cold and he was supposed to travel with a group, but he lacked the imagination to realize why that was important to know. This example of man's stubbornness reflects the naturalism archetype of man versus self.
Imperative: urgently necessary. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” building a fire is imperative for the man’s survival. While he was in the harsh Yukon environment, he falls into an ice trap, and his foot is frozen solid. Him not building a lasting fire ultimately led to his death, among him not listening to the old man’s advice to bring a partner, and him building a fire under a tree.
Your first and last name Ms. Krick English 8 29 April 2024 Title goes here Surviving in the wilderness can be harsh, difficult, and oftentimes deadly. Many people have died in the wilderness because they were not ready mentally, physically, and emotionally; the three key points to surviving in everyday life and the wild. Obviously, some are more important than others, but they are all essential. Having emotional stability is essential to surviving, not just in the wild, but everywhere in everyday life. This is proven in Jack London’s story, “To Build A Fire” in which a man climbs a dangerous, winter mountain.
To Build a Fire is written to show how Harsh and uncaring the Yukon can be in the middle of winter, But this man thought he was better than nature and could take the journey un affected. Given advice from the old timer he thought nature was no match for him. Even with the advice of how dangerous nature could be from the Old timer He let his arrogance get the best of him. The man embarked on his journey with the thought that he would make it but being arrogant and not listening to the advice given to him Naturalism was shown, Man was no match for nature and Nature chose the next move for him at every point along the way. Being arrogant and feeling like he was superior to nature turned against him. “The tremendous cold.. Made no impression on the man. It was not because he was long used to it. He was a newcomer to the land”(London 42). This man was a newcomer and had no business being out in the weather, Naturalism fate for him would lead him to his death for being arrogant and exploring this dangerous Yukon in the MIddle of the freezing winter temperatures.
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. Immediate, acting
“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
“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.
To build a fire is a short story written by Jack London. It is a story about an individual’s choice. The main character’s self-centeredness overcomes him, as he tries to survive the wintery weather in his travel in the Yukon Trail. He made a choice of ignoring the weather warnings, which evidenced danger in his journey. There were warnings like the absence of fellow travelers due to the cold season, but his egoism made him still embark on the journey alone, despite the warnings. The protagonist’s pride and arrogance leads to a regrettable outcome, as it leads to his downfall. The protagonist made the wrong choices because of his egotism, and arrogance and they led to his downfall. He defied nature due to his lack of logical judgment, and
The great debate of whether the world will end in a fiery ball of destruction or a frozen wasteland has baffled the minds of many people. A man named Robert Frost has written a poem called "Fire and Ice" that describes his thoughts on how he would prefer to leave this world. Upon reading this poem, the reader can derive two distinct meanings of fire and ice; one being of actual fire and ice destroying the world, and the other having symbols for the fire and ice, such as fire being desire or passion and ice being hatred and deceit. Although this poem is one of his shortest poems with only nine lines, it is also one of the most famous works that he has ever created.