Mood Loneliness In Jack London's To Build A Fire

Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire” is an illustration of the mood loneliness. This mood is conveyed throughout the story by the dark and gloomy setting of the Yukon in the extreme cold temperatures. When the man is walking along the Yukon trail he stops at the top of the hill and examines the darkness in the sky, “there seemed to be an indescribable darkness over the face of things. That was because the sun was absent from the sky” (London, 64). The image of darkness canvassing the surface of everything displays the absence of the setting around him, adding to the effect of the man being isolated and secluded, “darkness over the face of things”. Also the fact that the sun was absent from the sky adds to the absence of scenery
and also imposes the feeling of being alone, “the sun was absent from the sky”. Furthermore, when the man is walking through the forest he notices there are no tracks in the snow, “a dozen inches of snow of snow covered the marks of the last sled. In a month no man has traveled up or down that silent creek” (London, 67). There is no doubt in the man’s mind that the path that he walks on is not used often and has not been used recently, “In a month no man has traveled up or down that silent creek”. This creates the feeling of loneliness because he can tell that the path is not traveled often which adds to the perception of being isolated. Therefore, In the short story, “To Build a Fire”, the mood of loneliness is created by the setting of the dark and gloomy, cold winter days of the Yukon.