Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” -Analysis Essay

In Jack Londons To Build a Fire the setting of the forgetful level plays a significant role. Jack London uses specific techniques to establish the atmosphere and t matchless of the story. By introducing his readers to the setting, London prepargons them for a tone that is depressed and fear-provoking. Isolated by an environment of frigid weather and doom, the germ shows us how the main character of the story is completely unaware of his surroundings. The save world the hu earth race is in truth accustomed to is the world he has created for himself. Since musical compositiony of us have neer been exposed to such a harsh climate, Londons account that the environment is the determining factor of his survival paints an accurate picture. Anything that the man and his dog come into contact with creates an expectation for disaster in the story.The significance of the words dying and finding in the story continuously expresses the mans dwindling warmth and bad luck in his journey al ong the Yukon trail to meet his fri suppresss at camp. London associates dying with the mans decrease ability to hitch warm in the frigid Alaskan climate. The main characters predicament slowly worsens one level at a time finally resulting in death. London places a strong speech pattern on the setting in the introduction to the story. Day had broken cold and rusty, exceedingly cold and grey He repeats these phrases to emphase to the reader the impact the setting has on the lives of the characters. The gloominess of the setting causes the man and his dog to participation a unalterable battle in a world of depression. Lacking the virtue of imagination, the man is only gifted with his practical knowledge. This ignorance result hamper his ability to adapt to the conditions and stresses surrounding him.Typically the man neer wants to deal with reality especially when the reality is unpleasant. But all this-the mysterious, far-reaching hairline trail, the absence of sun from the sk y, the trem closeous cold, and the unfamiliarity of it all- made no impression on the man. He is able to tolerate the trouble some(prenominal) temperatures and climate he is surrounded by, he neer attempts to face monster within him. Facing what he would do if the necessary were to happen is this mans worst fear. This fear causes the man to become selfish, only focusing on the actions and thoughts that are acceptable to him. The mans ignorance to his surroundings and self-indulgence foreshadows a possible downfall.London provides us with subconscious hints that travel the reader to believe that the man will suffer a tragedy in the end of the story. only(prenominal) relying on his previous experiences causes the man to be a di dolefulvantage to his dog. A dog by personality is an animal that has the natural gift of instinct. Under these bitter conditions, the dog was capable of survival because of those instincts. The dog follows the man throughout his ill faded journey, but afte r the man succumbs to the weather, the burly relies upon his instincts to survive. Being placed in this type of environment is the main conflict of the story for both the main character and the dog.Relying only on his judgment, the man can non prepare to prevent a disaster from occurring. Londons constant focus on the how the environment affected the man and his reaction to being unable to survive equal his dog gives the reader certain hints. At this point London has already given an insight to the conclusion of the story. The theme of Londons To Build a Fire is how we should all take heed to sophisticated knowledge and learned behavior has its benefits, but our primal instincts should never have ignored. The man in the story had lots of knowledge but neglected to pay attention to his sixth sense. The dog on the opposite hand, followed as long as he could but then let his instincts carry him to safety. We can never have enough knowledge to replace the survival skill that nature has provided us.Lured in by the piece of the story the reader keeps on reading, waiting in anticipation of the danger of the climate to overcome the man. On the other hand, there was no keen intimacy between the dog and the man. The one was the toil striver of the other, and the only caresses it had ever received were the caresses of the trounce lash and of harsh and menacing throat sounds that threatened the whip lash. Although the dog was obviously anxious, he was unconcerned with the safety of the man. If the man was to come upon serious danger, the dog would not be willing to help him. Not being concerned with anything somewhat inventive, the man put himself in a position to anticipate death. His selfishness and ignorance keeps him in a situation of danger anddisaster.The climax of the story is when the man falls through the ice, wetting himself up to his knees. Preparing himself in advance might have prevented the mans accident in the water. The man ignorance once again caus ed him to be unprepared for this kind of situation. The man never as well ask the proper precautions because he never thought of how to cope with a deadly situation. The only help he was given for a similar situation was the advice of an old timer from Sulphur creek. Viciously, the man attempted to layover his appendages from freezing, but was unsuccessful as the dog watched.Londons portrayal of the man does not ab initio give the reader the theme of dying, but slowly develops the theme as the story develops. The story doesnt mention death until the last several pages. The main character changes from an enthusiastic pioneer to a sad and desperate man. The conclusion of the story portrays the man accepting his fate and understands the old-timer at Sulphur Creek had been right no man must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below. victimisation characterization, London is able to present why certain people are alive at the end and how one benefits from being social. The old-t imer at Sulfur Creek is alive because he is experienced and extraneous enough to benefit from others experiences that it is not wise to travel alone in the Yukon. The boys at camp are also alive because they are together and can benefit from each other. The mans husky is alive because it is well-suited for the Yukon environment, while the man is not. Unlike the other characters, London has the man die at the end of the story to illustrate that he dies because of his arrogance in his ability to travel alone. If the man travels with a bloke or a companion of equal instinct, he can benefit from him and possibly return safely to camp.In the opening paragraph London presents us with a scene that is gloomy, depressing, and ominous, these elements foreshadow an outcome that will be fatal to our protagonist. Our man has no name, but he does not need one, he could be any man that has bitten off more than he can chew he does notconsidered the consequences of his actions until it is too late . By then there can be no return, he has crossed the line that cannot be uncrossed, because he trusts his intellectual thought process, not paying attention to mans intuitive thoughts, the instinctual ones that some men consider less valid because they come from the unconscious mind. His unwillingness to contemplate the extreme cold, the tho used trail, his dogs instincts, reflect the mans inability to view the whole picture. As London puts it the man had no imagination he thought only to keep moving and stay dry, then he would be fine, however the man in the end could do neither.