Aidan Shannon
Ms. Reaman
English 10
Research Paper
April 24 2023
Ego in “To Build A Fire” “Amidst cruelty arrogance has its role, but you gotta tread with extreme caution. Arrogance laid on the wrong person is an appalling human rights violation” (Naskar, pp. 2). "To Build a Fire" is a novel by Jack London that uses the ego of the Man to show the consequences within rapid decisions. The novel uses the Man along with a Dog to show the difference in viewpoints on certain situations we have in society. The Man is very quick and over his head with his decisions and refuses to take advice from anyone but himself. This is in juxtaposition of the dog who uses critical and in depth thinking to try and figure out a situation while also warning the
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His deafness starts to show when, “The animal, depressed by the cold, seems to sense that something awful might occur because of the tremendously low temperatures” (Welsh, pp. 4173-4176 ). The Man can't see the fear in the Dog and becomes deaf to the whimpers and obvious danger and fear that is on display. The ego that has implemented itself inside the Man’s brain is something that is not only overlooked by the old-wiseman but himself as he struggles to get over his mental ego. Furthermore, the ego of the Man gets to his critical thinking when the author says “the Man does not at first think in terms of life versus death, or of the weakness of human beings versus the power of nature, but rather in terms of his own ability to solve any difficulties through the power of reason” (Historical Context: 'To Build A Fire”, pp. 3). The Man's ego travels across his thinking processes. This causes him to be unable to utilize critical thinking. He was unable to hone in on his basic instincts but instead tries to solve everything with “power of Reason”. The quick thought processes triggered by the Man's ego is a primary reason that resulted in his preventable death had he heeded the warnings and sage advice of the other …show more content…
His mental and emotional health impacted his physical health which then caused his decline and inability to survive in the Yukon. The ego causes the deafness to any sort of warning or advice. Also his ego leads him to becoming flustered when finally realizing the danger he is in at once as it is now too late to save himself. Everything leading back to the mental aspect is a clear description on the importance of critical thinking and mental health not only in high pressure situations but in daily life. The expedition we call life shall not be overruled by our over abbundnace of personal worth but by how we use our person to create better situations for us and others. “Ego trip: a journey to nowhere”
Arthur Miller's The Crucible highlights a human frailty, arrogance, responsible for the witch hysteria in the 1690s. Each character portrays arrogance which make him abuse power. The play explores the human nature of being arrogant and the fear of tarnishing one's reputation, by acting unmorally. Through Hale's, Parris's, and Danforth's actions, Miller indicates that arrogance is the frailty most responsible for the witch hysteria.
In the below-freezing temperatures, he encounters challenges that are associated with survival of the fittest. He is left with no strength to fight for himself and perishes at the hands of nature's ruthless and unforgiving power. Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” demonstrates the goal to survive in the cold while using naturalism, realism, and foreshadowing in the fight for survival. London presented an understanding of what might happen in the future of the book. The foreshadowing tactics he used gave us an insight into what is going to happen next: “Usually
Emma Avalos Ms. Gorton English III 19 January 2023 The Outcome Was As Expected Most books or movies ever made have a purpose to teach something. There is always that one kid who screws up and now his school blew up. They show how the kid thinks he knows more than his parents and doesn’t listen. The story results in the kid having to fix his mistake to save his school.
(Tobias Wolff) One quote that exceptionally explains my claims on the man and the dog's relationship is, "Once, sensing danger, he made the dog go ahead. The dog did not want to go. It hesitated until the man
In Jack London's "To Build a Fire," the man's arrogance and ignorance lead him to face a series of conflicts that ultimately result in his demise. The man in "To Build a Fire" is a solitary and arrogant figure who believes he can conquer the harsh, sub-zero temperatures of the Yukon. He disregards the advice of an old-timer at Sulfur Creek, who warns him not to travel alone in such cold conditions. The man's ignorance and hubris are evident in his decision to ignore the advice and forge ahead.
A person’s arrogance can be the complete downfall of a society. Arrogance is in everyone around us including the people who run countries and the world. Throughout the novel the main person who runs one of the most dangerous places in the world is completely driven by his arrogance and greed. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton, shows how arrogance and greed are not good trades to have in people that make big, impactful decisions. The novel Jurassic Park is based on one man who has access to the most dangerous animals in the world and because of his arrogance and greed he refuses to think anything can go wrong.
This characterization of reasoning animals conveys how reason is an attribute of a stronger being. Connell uses a third stylistic elements to illustrate reasons
The first reason I believe this is because he made a rash decision to go on a journey into the wild and did not prepare himself adequately. Yes, he may have been a smart man but nothing in his life had prepared him for his journey. The book states, “People from Outside... they’ll pick up a copy of Alaska magazine, thumb through it, get to thinkin’ ‘Hey, I’m goin’ to get on up there, live off the land, go claim me a piece of good life.’
First, the main character in the story is not named because he is to represent all of mankind. Nature is more powerful than humanity because of man’s ignorance and disregard for Nature’s powerful force. Another tenet London incorporates into his story is the focus on the futile attempts of human beings to exercise free will. The man becomes cold and tried to build a fire, and ends up making a terrible mistake costing his life. “It was his own fault or, rather, his mistake.
Using evidence from the story I can clearly state that Chris McCandless from “Into the Wild” was full of braveness and courage, as well as arrogance and stubbornness. The last time his parent saw him alive he was muscular, clean shaven, and fresh off a college diploma. When he died he was skin and bone and had a very shaggy beard. He had so much to live for and threw it all away to follow his dreams.
In the short story “To Build a Fire”, the author,Jack London creates a hurried tone for the reader. The first example of the hurried tone in this short story is “So as long as he walked four miles an hour, he pumped that blood”. This quote shows the tone because it is saying that if he slows down at all, the blood in his body will stop flowing. It is saying that he has to move and move quickly to keep alive. Another example the tone is “rapidity”.
Short Story Irony Multitudes of authors use different forms of irony to signify the opposite meaning and to entertain an audience such as situational, verbal, and dramatic irony. Situational irony is an event that occurs and is the opposite of what is expected as displayed in “To Build a Fire”. Moreover, verbal irony suggests the opposite of what is meant disclosed in “The Interlopers”. Finally, dramatic irony is when the reader knows something, but the character does not. Authors use irony to develop their respective themes in “To Build a Fire,” “The Interlopers,” and “The Necklace” by displaying, naturalism, sarcasm, and drama.
They may think that the man and dog never think the same because in the text it said “The man did not know the cold; But the dog knew” This is showing that the man and dog had different perspective on the coldness. Some people may think that the man and dog always think the same. They may think this because in the film it showed the man and dog getting along, especially when they were having to cross rivers. This is showing, that when the man and dog had to cross the river they were both smart enough not to walk over it until the man pushed the dog on to the river. Although some people may think this, it is not true because the man and dog show think differently in some situations like when the man was trying to kill the dog and similarly in other situations like warm fires.
Mark Twain believes that dogs are superior to man because out of all animals, man is the only one that is cruel enough to inflict pain on others just for the pleasure of doing it. Twain’s short story “A Dog’s Tale”, written in 1903, displays these beliefs and is done so from a dog’s point of view. This unusual take on the story is used to help convey the theme that one shouldn’t assume the others will do the same for them. The story includes literary elements such as characterisation, structural irony and a plot and conflict. It is a story of a loyal and heroic dog which unfortunately ends in an ironic twist of fate.
This paper asserts that in the story To Build A Fire, Jack London compares the man 's ego and powers to the forces of nature by depicting a contest between these two initiated by the man but one that nature always wins. First, the audience is introduced to the man’s ego that tells him that he can challenge the force of nature. The narrator says, “the distant trail, no sun in the sky, the great cold, and the strangeness of it all-Had no effects on the man” (London 65). Besides, if the man’s ego