to build a fire analysis
Fire and Ice: Choices and Consequences"To Build a Fire," by Jack London, is a short story that depicts a man journeying through the Yukon, who due to his inexperience, as well as a lack of respect for the environment, encounters some obstacles that lead to his eventual death. This is a naturalistic story that simply portrays the concept of man versus nature. London's development of the setting throughout the plot is very in-depth and captivating. As one reads, London sucks the reader into the story through his unique writing style. The reader learns along with the protagonist that a cocky attitude can be quickly humbled by the reality that all choices carry certain consequences. The narrative starts as a man and his wolf-dog set off in the snowy tundra of the Yukon for an encampment about thirty-five miles away. It is a very cold and gloomy morning. The man is a newcomer to the Yukon, and this is his first winter there. He spits. As the saliva leaves his mouth, it freezes in mid air, an indication that it is colder than fifty degrees below zero. He thinks nothing of it and keeps hiking. As he continues along, he sees a faint sled trail. A foot of snow has fallen and a month has passed since any sled has gone over
As he sits thinking very highly of himself, he is promptly returned to reality as his fire is snuffed out by snow that capsizes from a tree branch above. He fumbles to get the moss out, but instead scatters the twigs and the fire goes out. What London is saying is that this individual only takes things for what they are. At the end of the story, the man accepts that he had been foolish and also accepts that he is going to die. During the initial stages of the narration, London uses the literary technique of foreshadowing. Knowing that breaking through the ice and getting his feet wet could be very perilous, he urges his dog to go ahead. One would think that a man traveling in the arctic would have a close friendship with his dog, but this is not the case in this story. There were many things in the story that the man had no control over, such as the temperature, the hidden springs, and the falling snow. Yes, the man was fighting against nature for his own life; however, nature was not truly fighting back. He comes to terms with his fate and dies lying in the snow. Nature is completely indifferent to the man's existence. He finally strikes the entire book of matches and starts a small fire. He begins to build another fire, this time out in the open but his fingers are too cold. It is at this point that the man begins to get a little cocky about his competence as a lone traveler. He is unable to strike the matches.
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