To Build A Fire By Jack London
Jack London is known for creating stories with naturalism and realism. I will talk about these aspects throughout this paper. The story being discussed is To Build a Fire. Throughout this story we see an unidentified man being accompanied by a wolf dog. The story is created and told through the building of many fires. We will also discuss the man versus nature ideas. Throughout the story we see the traveler and his dog trek through the harsh natural setting and we see the man tested against nature and to see if he has what it takes to survive the wilderness.
In the beginning of the story we learn that an “old man” advised against the main character traveling the wilderness when it is extremely cold, around fifty degrees below. The main character …show more content…
The idea of “man” is he uses his thinking abilities to make his life easier. By easier, he decides to place his fire underneath a tree so that the branches are easily next to the fire so he doesn’t have to collect branches and walk. The problem with this is the fire is put out because the snow above the fire falls onto it. It is possible that our instincts would have told us to not put a starting fire underneath a tree covered in snow for the possibility of it falling on top of the fire. Throughout the story we see the man thinking for himself and him trying to make his journey easier for him. He walks along the ice and there are hot springs that can break. If one were to fall in and get his lower body wet, it would be devastating because of the outside temperature. Instead of taking the risks for himself, he sends the dog to take the bait. What is ironic is later on when he is desperate to get warm; he envisions killing the dog and using its carcass to keep warm. However it is ironic when he catches the dog but his hands are too cold and frozen to do anything to the dog. I believe this is another situation in which nature wins versus man. What is also extremely ironic is the fact that the dog, who represents nature, wins in the endgame. The man dies with dignity realizing any effort of getting to the camp is a waste of time and the dog that uses its instincts
In the beginning of the story we learn that an “old man” advised against the main character traveling the wilderness when it is extremely cold, around fifty degrees below. The main character …show more content…
The idea of “man” is he uses his thinking abilities to make his life easier. By easier, he decides to place his fire underneath a tree so that the branches are easily next to the fire so he doesn’t have to collect branches and walk. The problem with this is the fire is put out because the snow above the fire falls onto it. It is possible that our instincts would have told us to not put a starting fire underneath a tree covered in snow for the possibility of it falling on top of the fire. Throughout the story we see the man thinking for himself and him trying to make his journey easier for him. He walks along the ice and there are hot springs that can break. If one were to fall in and get his lower body wet, it would be devastating because of the outside temperature. Instead of taking the risks for himself, he sends the dog to take the bait. What is ironic is later on when he is desperate to get warm; he envisions killing the dog and using its carcass to keep warm. However it is ironic when he catches the dog but his hands are too cold and frozen to do anything to the dog. I believe this is another situation in which nature wins versus man. What is also extremely ironic is the fact that the dog, who represents nature, wins in the endgame. The man dies with dignity realizing any effort of getting to the camp is a waste of time and the dog that uses its instincts