Jack London Conflict
The Trek
Few people anticipate an arduous trek in life. In fact, many people try to avoid difficulties in life. But in Jack London's, To Build a Fire, the main character has to trek through the Yukon and and hopefully survive. In order to better display his journey, London uses indirect characterization and external conflict to show that when man has a lack of respect and experience in the environment he may encounter near-death situations.
London creates a situation that an experienced outdoorsman would know to avoid. As the man and his loyal dog set out in the cold to reach a camp far out in the wilderness of the Yukon, they encounter many obstacles that hinder their journey. London uses the man’s surroundings like “50 degrees below zero …show more content…
“This fact did not worry the man. He was not alarmed by the lack of sun” (London), without the sun it will be harder for him to keep warm. The man does not recognize the danger in his surroundings. He is not aware of the danger that he puts himself in by being lackadaisical “The man is traveling on foot; all he has by the way of supplies is his lunch”(To Build). He did not think to prepare for longer than a couple of hours in the wilderness. He almost fell through the ice multiple times,and “once sensing danger he made the dog go ahead. . .it hesitated until the man pushed it forward. . . suddenly it fell through the ice, but climbed out on the other side, which was firm” (London). This proves that the man had no respect for his dog because he knew there was danger but still insisted that the dog go on ahead. Later, “the man thinks of killing the dog and thawing his hands in its carcass, but when he approaches, the dog recoils at the fear in his voice and backs away” (To Build). He tries to fix his mistake of not being prepared by thinking about taking the dog’s life to save his own. The dog recognizes this and avoids being caught.
London creates a situation where the man has to overcome unbeatable odds. London employs external conflict to push the man and his dog to the limits. London also uses indirect characterization to add to to the reader's understanding of the main character's thought process throughout the story. The man’s trek through the
Few people anticipate an arduous trek in life. In fact, many people try to avoid difficulties in life. But in Jack London's, To Build a Fire, the main character has to trek through the Yukon and and hopefully survive. In order to better display his journey, London uses indirect characterization and external conflict to show that when man has a lack of respect and experience in the environment he may encounter near-death situations.
London creates a situation that an experienced outdoorsman would know to avoid. As the man and his loyal dog set out in the cold to reach a camp far out in the wilderness of the Yukon, they encounter many obstacles that hinder their journey. London uses the man’s surroundings like “50 degrees below zero …show more content…
“This fact did not worry the man. He was not alarmed by the lack of sun” (London), without the sun it will be harder for him to keep warm. The man does not recognize the danger in his surroundings. He is not aware of the danger that he puts himself in by being lackadaisical “The man is traveling on foot; all he has by the way of supplies is his lunch”(To Build). He did not think to prepare for longer than a couple of hours in the wilderness. He almost fell through the ice multiple times,and “once sensing danger he made the dog go ahead. . .it hesitated until the man pushed it forward. . . suddenly it fell through the ice, but climbed out on the other side, which was firm” (London). This proves that the man had no respect for his dog because he knew there was danger but still insisted that the dog go on ahead. Later, “the man thinks of killing the dog and thawing his hands in its carcass, but when he approaches, the dog recoils at the fear in his voice and backs away” (To Build). He tries to fix his mistake of not being prepared by thinking about taking the dog’s life to save his own. The dog recognizes this and avoids being caught.
London creates a situation where the man has to overcome unbeatable odds. London employs external conflict to push the man and his dog to the limits. London also uses indirect characterization to add to to the reader's understanding of the main character's thought process throughout the story. The man’s trek through the