Literary Analysis: To Build A Fire
Hope Wilhite
Myers
EN H 4th
30 January 2016
To Build A Fire Literary Analysis To Build A Fire is a short story that shows the true unmerciful power of nature. A man's foolish decision to think he could defeat nature ended with the taking of his life. The story takes place in one of the coldest expanses of land in the world, Alaska. An Alaskan winter one of the most brutal environments the human body can endure. The temperatures range from fifteen degrees to bellow zero. The main character in the story had no idea what he was getting himself into when he decided to walk outdoors that day. Nature truly has no mercy. This unnamed, foolish man was a newcomer in the Yukon and had absolutely no business the be alone outside trying to reach a
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There are hot springs in the creek that heat up certain places on the ice making it thin and almost watery. The man uses the dog and pushes it out onto the ice only for the dogs hind legs to fall through. To warm both of them up after the mishap, he builds a fire. He sits until he sees fit, gets a bite to eat, and then they continue on their journey. Unfortunately, he breaks through the ice himself and must stop to make another fire to warm his feet and dry his shoes. He stupidly build they fire directly under a tree causing the snow to fall on top of the fire. He begins to panic slightly calming himself, but finally realizing he may be in trouble. His second attempt at this fire is disastrous, his hands are too cold to pull out a match so he had to use his mouth. When he lit the fire the smoke went directly into his lungs causing him to cough uncontrollably. Next, he gets annoying and grabs all the matches and lights them only for his numb hands to drop them all over the cold winter ground. Now he found himself alone, frozen, and with no fire. He panics and begins to sprint as best he could in the deep snow in the direction of the mine. He feels his body begin to warm up, but his dying body can not continue running in the snow. He feels foolish because he he did not face his fate with dignity. He lies down into the snow accepting his fate. As he is dying, he has a vision of himself. In the vision, his friends that he was meeting
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Use Of Instinct In To Build A Fire
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To Build A Fire, By Jack London
849 Words | 4 Pages“As it flamed he held it with his teeth to the tree bark. But the burning smell went up his nose, causing him to cough. The match fell into the snow and the flame died” (75). The saying “by the skin of your teeth” was used literally in this portion of the story. Winning but by a small margin, he was able to light the match to hopefully create a large fire, but he soon dropped the match due to its fumes.
Jack London Figurative Language
875 Words | 4 PagesSeen in "To Build a Fire," also London portrays the man's futile attempt to survive in the cold of the Yukon. The man is shown as being at the mercy of natures cold “That showed one must not be too sure of things. There was no mistake about it, it was
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Jack London's To Build A Fire
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Summary Of Jack London's 'To Build A Fire'
1063 Words | 5 PagesIn Jack London 's "To Build a Fire," London reveals how a man walks through a tough winter in one of the many forests found in Yukon, Alaska. Facing a myriad amount of obstacles along the way; he depends on how he should tackle his problems when they appear during his journey instead of thinking ahead rationally and beyond the obvious. Before the nameless man leaves off to his harsh expedition he was forewarned by an elderly that “no man must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below"(London). The man decides to ignore the elders warning and continues his path. If he would of listened to the wise man, he would have avoided all the sticky situations that would soon come his way and ultimately lead him to his demise.
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674 Words | 3 PagesHis saliva turns into ice before hitting the ground, and he knows this means that it is more than fifty degrees below freezing. Despite the obvious danger and forewarning from an older man, the man and dog continue along the trail. The temperature is the main factor resulting in his death. The human body has limits,
Theme Of To Build A Fire
181 Words | 1 PagesTo build a fire. The man and his dog got on the Yukon Trail. They were headed towards Dyea and Darwon. They faced much colder weather than expected. The dog knew what was going to happen to the man, he was going to die.
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1571 Words | 7 PagesIf man were to face nature, man will always lose if not accompanied by another. The powers of nature are much stronger than a single human body. Sometimes nature can be cruel, and other times it can be beautiful. In the story of, “To Build a Fire”, the character faces nature head on, alone. He had no company other than the dog that followed him around.
An Analysis Of Jack London's To Build A Fire
260 Words | 2 Pages“To Build A Fire”, a story by Jack London, talks about man’s attitude towards nature’s natural state and human’s superiority. The man in the story tries to fight the coldness without coming properly prepared, thinking he is beyond nature That, however, does not work in his favour. This story is a perfect example how, when a man messes with nature, it most likely won’t end well. No matter how much the man tried to fight the freezing weather, the constant drop of temperature, without proper equipment, and with no one beside him, he did not succeed.
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