ipl-logo

Theme Of Survival In Laurence Gonzales To Build A Fire

946 Words4 Pages

Deepak Chopra once said, “The masculine energy was about survival. The male was the hunter who risked his life and had to be in the fight-flight mode.” When pertaining to survival, the main character in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London failed to follow three main steps in Laurence Gonzales’ nonfiction trade book, “Deep Survival.” The main character failed to stay calm, to think, analyze, and plan, and to never give up his trek through the pure untrampled white snow.
One reason the main character died is because he did not follow the step of staying calm (Gonzales 96). In his crisis, remaining placid, a detrimental key while in a critical situation, was unachievable by the protagonist of the story. For example, when the man built the second …show more content…

One reason as to why the main character was brought to his death was when he brought to his final panic. When forced to acknowledge reality for one of the first times on this journey, the man began to think about the lack of feeling and the deathly frozen portions of his body, along with the severity of them (London 90). If he were to have kept these negative thoughts out of his mind, the main character may have been able to think more clearly and resourcefully in order to find a new source of action. Next, the man gave up when he thought about the boys back at camp finding his body later on. “Suddenly he [the main character] found himself with them [the boys], coming along the trail and looking for himself” (London 90). Allowing himself to be a fallen victim to the negativity accompanied with these thoughts, the man was, in result, giving up. The last way that the man gave up was when he succumbed to all of the persuasions of the negativity, and he let himself go. “Then the man drowsed off into what seemed to him the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever know” (London 91). This was the last sign of the man giving up; with no hope left for himself, the main character decided to no longer go on with the persistency and determination that he had had in the past. These ways of giving up are what lead the man in London’s story to his

Show More
Related

  • Theme Of Forgotten Fire By Adam Bagdasarian

    907 Words  | 4 Pages

    How would a 12 year old boy who watched his family die around him be able to escape the extermination of his kind? The novel Forgotten Fire is a compelling historical fiction book written by Adam Bagdasarian. This book follows the journey of Vahan Kenderian as he tries to survive the Armenian genocide. Vahan watches the world he knew collapse around him as he watches those he grew to care about leave him, by death or not. During his time the young boy meets many people that affect him for the rest of his life.

    Read More

  • Book Reports On Night By Elie Wiesel

    744 Words  | 3 Pages

    He was forced to evacuate and move to another camp, the soldiers made him run to an abandoned town, then to a train where him and many others were shoved into one box car. This part of his memoir is the most terrifying because of the horrid weather, dangerous prisoners, and the blood-curdling soldiers. As he was running the harsh weather caused many to fall and die. The weather was cold and snowy, the people had little on, and even though they were running it didn’t stop from making them cold or sick. When the soldiers let them stop at the town, many sank into the snow, and or fell asleep.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast To Build A Fire And The Cremation Of Sam Mcgee

    1369 Words  | 6 Pages

    Throughout history man has had countless deadly interactions with nature, but man will never be able to defeat nature. In the literature by Jack London, the article, by University of Washington and Robert Service we can learn about some of the few times that man has lost against nature. In all of these stories the Man vs. Nature conflict is apparent to anyone reading these stories. In “To Build a Fire,” Klondike Gold Rush, and “The Cremation of Sam McGee” these writings have many similarities in its treatment of conflict as well as the differences. In all of these readings the weather is harsh and very cold.

    Read More

  • Catching Fire Analysis

    797 Words  | 4 Pages

    Symbolism is a notable feature in Catching Fire. Through symbolism , Suzanne Collins manages to paint Katniss as the ultimate embodiment of rebellion through transferring her into a mockingjay . " A mockingjay is a creature the Capitol never intended to exist"(92), as it is a result of the Capitol's usage of the japperjays which were sent to spy on the rebels. However, the japperjays failed in their mission so the Capitol left them to die ,but they managed to survive through mating to female mockingbirds . This proves that the existence of the mockingjays is an act of rebellion in itself , an act of defiance excuted by the Capitol's own invention , long before Katniss has been born. .

    Read More

  • What Is Chris Mccandless Response To Into The Wild

    121 Words  | 1 Pages

    Before the written novel “Into the wild”, Chris’ story had just been another told story of an idiotic man fighting for his manly hood, thus for he died and failed to accomplish. In January 1993, Jon Krakauer published McCandless’ story in that month’ issue of Outside magazine, getting numerous letters presuming the man was either mentally ill, or letters simply questioning his judgement. Inspired by the details of McCandless’ story, Krakauer wrote and published “Into The Wild” in 1996 about McCandless’ adventures, and how he may have had reasons for what he had done, reasons that weren’t apparent before hand. These adventures and reasons sparked varying responses among students, literary minds, alpinist and survivalists alike. Inspiring the

    Read More

  • Forged By Fire Analysis

    1323 Words  | 6 Pages

    The book “Forged by Fire” by Sharon M. Draper is a book with many themes and lessons we all can learn. One of the themes that this essay will talk about will be about loyalty. For one thing, loyalty is a strong feeling because it’s something that comes from inside of a person to have faith in someone . We are all loyal to someone, someone who’s special in our lives and plays a major role in our lives that drags us to support them no matter what. In this book, Gerald gets abused by his drunk father.

    Read More

  • Owl Creek Bridge Theme

    541 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ambrose Bierce’s " An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", is the story of Peyton Farquhar, who is a confederate farmer who is being hanged for trying to destroy a union army bridge. The story centers on a different reality that Farquhar creates in his mind, while he's really hanging, with no heartbeat, just activity in his brain. Farquhar creates an escape in his mind, seconds before he is actually dead. The story focuses on a few different major themes including, the fluidity of time, versions of reality, and death.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between John Proctor And The Crucible

    910 Words  | 4 Pages

    He tries to forgive himself but he cannot, no matter how hard he tries. The heroic characteristics as well as the flaw leads him to be a tragic hero. On top of his road to self discovery he must deal with the ever declining social structure of the town. He tries to stand out as an honest resistor to the hangings, which ultimately leads to his

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Fire Symbolism Essay

    1077 Words  | 5 Pages

    Government organizations often use symbols to portray their power or military strength. Writers also use symbols to convey a message to the reader. In his novel Lord of the Flies, William Golding uses symbols to help readers track the loss of civility of the boys. The fire is both a symbol of hope and the reckless behavior of the boys.

    Read More

  • Night By Elie Wiesel Fire Analysis

    1198 Words  | 5 Pages

    What begins and has no end, and ends all that which begins? The answer is death. The majority of the time, death is a topic people tend to avoid or deviate from since it triggers uncertainty and fear. During the Holocaust, however, death lingered through the air as thick, black smoke does, suffocating its victims and cruelly seizing their lives. The grim reaper was a daily visitor in the ghettos, transports, and concentration camps in which about six million Jews perished.

    Read More

  • The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Conflict Essay

    494 Words  | 2 Pages

    In contrast to romanticism, realism writings of the 1800s showed society as it really was. Two authors, Brett Harte who wrote “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” and Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” both expressed the idea that people need people. These authors relayed this societal message through external and internal conflict. The societal message that people need people was expressed through external conflict in Brett Harte’s “The Outcasts of Poker Flat”.

    Read More

  • Jack London's To Build A Fire And The Most Dangerous Game By Richard Connell

    1498 Words  | 6 Pages

    To Build a Fire” and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. The settings in these stories, the Yukon in “To Build a Fire” and an island in the south Atlantic in “The Most Dangerous Game”, take a toll on the main characters in a very different fashion. Both of these short stories provide excellent demonstrations of this topic but the most obvious are the environment The Man is in, the, application of nature in Rainsford’s survival, Connells animal-like description of Rainsford, and the symbol of fire. We see in “To Build a Fire” that The Man is constantly plagued by the icy tundra he finds himself in.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: 'To Build A Fire'

    674 Words  | 3 Pages

    Argumentative Essay In “To Build a Fire,” the story of an unnamed man traveling along the Yukon Trail with a dog is told. Throughout the story, the man’s death is foreshadowed. The husky that he is traveling with has a natural instinct and understands, seemingly more than the man, that traveling the Yukon Trail in the freezing cold temperatures is extremely dangerous. The man soon learns how cold it is when he spits.

    Read More

  • Suspense In Jack London's To Build A Fire

    735 Words  | 3 Pages

    The short story of a man wandering across the Yukon Territory in midwinter creates a multitude of feelings in the reader. However, no feeling is stronger than the suspense about the survival of the main character. The man sets out alone to cross the Yukon Territory alone, despite warnings about the dangers of doing so. These dangers as told to us through through the eyes of a narrator develop the anticipation that keeps the story entertaining. Jack London’s effective use of basic literary techniques such as narration and conflict in the short story “To Build a Fire” is successful in keeping the reader involved throughout the story.

    Read More

  • To Build A Fire Man Vs Nature

    884 Words  | 4 Pages

    The short story, To Build A Fire by Jack London demonstrates the man’s powerlessness compared to the forces of nature. It is the man’s ego that prompts him to challenge nature by embarking on the journey while he understands well that he will encounter the full wrath of extreme weather condition. Additionally, the man 's powerlessness is seen in the setting of the action, his lack of identity and the author 's depiction of the mightiness of nature. Besides, the protagonist effort to overcome nature is faced with equal efforts from the latter to defeat him as seen in his failure to light a fire. It is for these reasons that this paper maintains that the story, To Build A Fire by Jack London, is a true manifestation of the conflict between man and nature and which although the former initiate he losses to the latter in

    Read More

More about Theme Of Survival In Laurence Gonzales To Build A Fire

Open Document