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To Build A Fire Short Story

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Jack London, an American novelist, wrote two short stories alike in style. “To Build a Fire” and “The Law of Life” have many similarities and differences. The two stories are closely related but have many different characteristics if taken a close look at. Jack London related the two stories by using similarities and differences mainly in the setting, characters, and theme.
The setting in “To Build a Fire” is in the wilderness of the frozen Yukon Trail in Alaska during the harsh winter months. The man states “There was no sun nor hint of sun in the sky.” During this time the characters in the story could literally freeze to death if they could not keep their body temperature up. They were traveling along the trail during the dangerous temperatures …show more content…

nature. The man tries to overcome the cold weather by setting out to find gold in dangerous conditions. He has lots of perseverance and determination. He knows about the dangers of being outside, but he does not give up. He uses his power of reason and survival knowledge. Eventually, he cannot make it any longer. The snow falls on the second fire he created, and soon freezes to death.
Likewise, in “The Law of Life” has the same theme, man vs. nature. Old Koskoosh must accept the “Law of Life” that he can not overcome the opposing force of death and face the fact he is going to pass away. He thinks he is going to have a slow, painful death of freezing to death. He soon spots a pack of wolves heading his way. He realizes his time is up and there is no more fight. He then drops to his knees as the wolves encircle him and later eat him alive.
To conclude, “To Build a Fire” and “The Law of Life” have many similarities written by Jack London. The similarities are mainly in the setting, characters, and theme. The only large difference would be the amount of characters in each story and they are named. They reflect each other by both taking place on the Yukon Trail in Alaska and having a common

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