Jack London 's "To Build a Fire" is a short story that uses the literally element of naturalism to describe how an individual 's choices he or she makes ultimately will decide their fate in the future. In the short story the main character 's ego and lack of experience overcomes him, as he tries to travel through Yukon Trail in the middle of winter unprepared and ill-equipped. He made the poor choice of ignoring all the warning signs, leading up to, and during his journey. The man 's selfishness and arrogance lead to his unfortunate outcome. The story is set in the Yukon during the great Klondike Gold Rush, when over 100,000 people moved to the Yukon Territory in search of gold. This brought a lot of young men into the harsh wilderness, and many of them had …show more content…
His face was now starting to go numb, and his cheeks were beginning to experience the early stages of frostbite. He begins to wish that he had foreseen the danger of frostbite and had gotten a facial strap for protection. He tells himself that frostbitten cheeks are "a bit painful, that 's all; they were never serious." (113) as a way to not think about the pain and continue to push on. He later arrives at a creek is familiar with and remembers the danger of the hidden springs that ran off from the hillside which left pools of water nearly three feet deep, covered by a thin sheet of ice hidden under the snowy ground. At this point, the man is very concerned about accidently falling into one of these pools. "And to get his feet wet in such a temperature meant trouble and danger." (113) Getting wet would only delay him, "at the very least it meant delay, for he would be forced to stop and build a fire...." (113) Every time he thought he came across a frozen pool, he would force the dog to go first to see if it is safe or not. At this point and time, he begins to get more and more nervous about the
In the book, Fahrenheit 451 the author uses fire as a allusion and compares it a lot with the personalities of the main characters. I think the role of fire slightly changes from the beginning to the end of the novel. In the beginning, it was shown as a way of pleasure towards the mindless destruction they caused to people and the books that meant nothing to them. Which later changed to be seen as a possibility of a new beginning, like the old saying, “When a door closes, a window opens,” but in this case, the characters open that ‘window’ by burning their past. For instance, in the beginning of the novel the main character, Montag, clearly states, “It was a pleasure to burn.
Allison McNatt L.James Adv. Eng. 10 XX September 2023 “To Build a Fire ” The heartbreaking narrative of a man who chooses to travel alone through the dangerous terrain of the Yukon, displays a dangerous decision to travel alone.
The man also expresses sympathy for the canine after it fell into the freezing water. " He
Throughout the novel “Into the Wild” the character Mccandless had planned to leave off on his own to explore the forest of Alaska. Mccandless was the son of a wealthy parents, he left them with the intention to show or prove something to himself and his family, after he left without telling them. He had donated all his money he had earned and gave it all to charity and practically gave up all his possessions. This young man was not prepared to be out in the wild since he did not have the right equipment and food supplies to survive out in the wild. He was later found dead inside of a school bus that had been sitting in the wild for years.
Chris McCandless, the protagonist of Jon Krakauer's book "Into the Wild," was a young man who sought solitude and adventure in the wilderness. He was deeply inspired by two literary works: "To Build a Fire," a short story by Jack London, and "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience," an essay by Henry David Thoreau. These works had a profound impact on McCandless's worldview and ultimately contributed to his decision to embark on a journey into the Alaskan wilderness, where he tragically lost his life. "To Build a Fire" is a story about a man who becomes stranded in the Alaskan wilderness during a cold winter day. Despite his best efforts, the man is unable to start a fire to keep warm and eventually freezes to death.
In the non-fiction book Into the wild by Jon Krakauer and the short story “to build a fire” by Jack London, two authors describe “similar” lives “in the wild” with the worst ending. However,same process could lead to various answers, through comparing and contrasting the Into the Wild and To build a fire, readers could comprehend the homologous but different views for the nature lives from two authors. First of all, Chris McCandless in Into the wild and The man in “to build a fire” have similar but different motives for being out “in the wild”. McCandless is a talented young man who born in a relatively wealthy family, he never need to worries about money and life. But because of his desires for nature and some conflicts with his parents,McCandless
No one should ever put themselves in harm 's way. Most of the time people don’t know what they are doing. Most people try things and try to attempt many reckless and dangerous things without knowing exactly what they are doing in those situations. That’s why you are responsible for your own actions in a life-or-death situation.
With a stick I measured the water in the hole where my feet had broken through the ice. I was right. My foot had touched bottom. Eighteen inches down I felt the soft mud.” (Rawls, 62).
One of the passenger on the boat would state “If I am going to be drowned, why in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea was I allowed to come thus far?” Through their struggle, they would end of having to swim to shore because of the potential that the boat could swamp. As a result of swimming, one of the characters would die. In the beginning of story, a flashback is used that explains how the captain was also injured due to a boat that would sink. A second example of Naturalism could be seen in To Build a Fire by Jack London by Jack London.
His 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,
The narrator describes the Yukon Territory as 75-degrees below freezing and being a highly treacherous for anyone to travel alone (2). By introducing this hostile environment, London creates tension in the reader as they begin to question the man’s safety in the freezing cold temperatures, After the man falls into the river and starts to freeze to death, he builds a fire in order to survive. As the fire grows and the warmth spreads, the snow on a tree falls, knocking out his fire. Through struggles such as this one, suspense is created due to the severity of the danger the man faces and the risks involved in the
1.) Roughly how much of London 's story is devoted to describing the setting? What particular details make it memorable? In Jack London 's "To Build a Fire", he uses setting to allow the reader to experience the trip and how cold it is by very powerfully in showing/representing the mood and visual for the story.
In the story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London and the short film “To Build a Fire” Directed by David Cobham a man and dog were traveling through the Yukon trail because of the gold rush. While they were travling through the Yukon trail they ran into problems along the way. During the problems the man and dog thought differently and similarly. The man and dog think differently in some situations like when the man or chechaquo(New comer) was trying to kill the dog. The man and dog also think similarly in other situations like, they both have the same idea of survival.
In “To Build A Fire” the author Jack London uses the contrast of humanity and nature to illustrate how fallible we are. We repeatedly see instances where mistakes return to haunt the man. Jack London as a prospector undoubtedly saw many deaths like these. Prospectors who thought the rules were for the“womanish”, who were later found dead, or never found at all.
To Build A Fire is a short tragic tale by Jack London that narrates about a man’s last days on the earth. The story’s protagonist is passing through the sub-freezing land of the Yukon when he becomes the victims of an unforgiving and harsh force of nature. Before embarking on the journey, the man is warned against walking alone on such severe weather conditions and even if his instincts also warn him, he decides to ignore all the signs and his conscience and to follow his ego. He makes several attempts to light a fire but does not make it. It is after several attempts that the man finally gives in to the forces of nature and awaits his now evident death.