Powder, By Tobias Wolff

Compare and Contrast

The short story, "Powder", by Tobias Wolff, focuses on a boy and his father. While on a skiing trip, the two get held back by a snowstorm. In "To Build a Fire", by Jack London, a man and a wolf dog are stuck outside in temperatures that are 75 below zero. These two stories involve a risky journey through the cold winter temperatures, with attempts to reach safety. Although they are similar, London expresses the relationship between the man and the wolf by the story's drastic circumstances, whereas Wolff strengthens the bond between the father and son throughout the story's events.

London includes the unique relationship of a man and a wolf in his story, "To Build a Fire". Even though the man may not have control over the wild wolf, he still had gained its trust. "The dog followed again at his heels, with its tail hanging low, as the man started to walk along the frozen steam." (London) The man also expresses sympathy for the canine after it fell into the freezing water. "He

Both of the texts begin in a cold and snow covered environment. In "To Build a Fire", the characters' main goal is to survive the harsh climate on foot and meet up with others at six o'clock. Similar to London's passage, the main character in "Powder" needs to be home in time for dinner on Christmas Eve. The characters in both stories were trying to meet a time deadline, despite their troublesome obstacles along the way. Both authors portrayed their story through a setting that consisted of severe weather and cold temperatures. "Then there was nothing but snow; snow on the road, snow kicking up from the chains, snow on the trees, snow in the sky, and our trail in the snow." (Wolff) "Because the freezing point is 32 above zero, it meant that there were 107 degrees of frost. The dog had learned about fire, and it wanted fire." (London) This shows how serious the weather was in the two