Weather In Jack London's To Build A Fire

Foster points out that the weather plays a critical role in a work of literature. Whether it be for plot development or for a democratic reason, rain, snow, or fog plays a significant role in literature. In general, rain can bring about enlightenment and restoration, and snow can bring abstract thought. What an author does with rain, snow, or fog in the novel can signify a change in character or parallel the atmosphere or what is happening in the novel. For much of A Thousand Splendid Suns, the characters must withstand a drought.

In the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the protagonist foremost values his pride, which leads to his demise. The story starts off with the protagonist taking a detour in the Yukon so that he could survey the trees in the area (he was doing this so that he could send logs down the river to the gold prospecting camp, where he would sell the wood to the prospectors for money). But, the protagonist’s pride blinds him from what could have and should have done to ensure his survival in the Yukon. About halfway through his journey, he accidentally breaks through the ice on the spring and his foot falls into the water. At the temperatures mentioned in the story (seventy below zero), if he did not dry himself properly, it could lead to serious frostbite and/or death. So, he was forced to build a fire, and the “fire was a success. He was safe. He remembered the advice of the old timer on Sulphur Creek, and smiled. The old-timer had been very serious in laying down that no man must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below. Well, here he was; he had had an accident: he was alone; and he had saved himself. Those old-timers were rather womanish” (London 8). The man keeps feeding the fire and gets ready to take his (frozen and potentially dangerous) footwear off, and feels content and a sense of satisfaction of disproving the old-timers. But, just as it seemed to be that the fire was stable and strong, snow that was on the branches of the spruce tree he was under fell

In a piece of literary work weather is never just weather. Rain, snow, storms, and even rainbows all have their distinct meanings and in most cases usually symbolize something much deeper. Weather can change the entire mood of a novel and this is important because at times authors use weather to symbolize what is going on emotionally with a character. Two works of literature that use weather accordingly and symbolically are Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and The Odyssey by Homer.

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.

Hawthorne describes a cold and gray day.  This description gives the reader a sense of isolation as well as slight depression.  However, the mention of a slight breeze that ruffles the canopy of the forest just enough to let in little flickers of sunshine conveys a fleeting ray of hope that seems to coexist with the gloominess in the scene.  In many scenes during the book, moods or prevailing feelings are established through descriptions of the natural surroundings of the characters.  This aspect of Hawthorne's writing makes the book deeper and more emotional.

In “To Build A Fire,” Jack London creates temperature that is almost identical to the real life scenarios the Gold Rushers of 1897 had to endure. Jack London uses real temperatures like -75℉ which is very close to the real temperatures of The Yukon. In the story he states, “It was 75 below zero. Because the freezing point is 32 above zero, it meant that there were 107 degrees of frost,” (London, 3). This explains the extreme cold these men had to endure.

If developed the right way, the setting can play an important role in a story like this. London builds his setting up quickly, within the first words of this story. The story is set in the wintertime with no sign of the sun, at the Yukon Trail. A deadly and extremely cold area in the country of Canada. In the story, the narrator states, “Day had dawned cold and gray when the man turned aside

Rain and sun, snow and sleet, wind and fog can all possess varying meanings of symbolism in differing pieces of writing. In both A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway and A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley it is clear that weather can have numerous interpretations.

lead his readers to believe that the man will suffer a tragedy in the end

11. The weather and Mr. White’s behavior bring a dull and gloomy mood to the beginning of the story. The Whites are located in a remote location away from people, which gives the story a secluded feeling. The cold and rainy weather creates a gloomy and eerie feeling. Mr. White is disappointed that he did not win the game of chess, which gives the story a downbeat

London also quotes at the beginning of his story, “There was no sun or promise of sun, although there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear day. However, there seemed to be an indescribable darkness over the face of things.” This quote describes that the setting seems to be frightful to the man and makes him seem to be in a terrible

Gurraj Purewal Mrs. Sanchez AP English Lit and Comp 5 July 2017 Importance of Weather Chapter 10 You may say that every story need a setting and that weather is part of the setting. That is true, by the way, but it isn’t the whole deal (75). In chapter 10 Foster discusses how weather plays a more important role than just being a part of the setting in literature. Weather helps us visualize the setting but it also usually has a symbolic meaning. Authors also use weather as a device to put characters in literature into certain situations that might not have been possible without the weather that the author is telling us about.

In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” the conflict is between man and nature. London wants us to know our limits and not to try to impress other people. The man faces many conflicts trying to live in the wild him just himself and his dog. He is foolish, ignorant, and brave. He is foolish because his fingers get numb and he tries to build a fire. Another thing is he is ignorant, he is this because he ignores the people at the camp telling him not to go into the wild. However, he is brave. This is because not many people would even think about doing what he did never mind do it. The man can draw similarities to Chris Mccandless because of what they did. Eventually the man did die, he was on his way back to camp and died climbing up the hill. The cold is what

When meeting characters in the beginning of novels, the author can add how they perceive weather to let the readers get a feel for how observing they are. If the character pays no mind to the weather the reader may see that had acted as ignorant.

No matter what type of story you are reading, setting always plays a key element in producing the desired effect. Jack London's short story To Build A Fire provides an excellent example of this. In this story, a man hikes across a snow and ice covered plane towards the encampment where he is supposed to meet up with more travelers like himself. The setting of this story is one of the northernmost most areas of the earth, the Yukon. The man must hike across this area for approximately thirty-six miles before he reaches the camp at which he is expected. The constantly dropping temperature further complicates the man's hike. When he begins his journey at nine o'clock in the morning it is