Essays on To Build A Fire

Jack London's ‘To Build a Fire’ takes place within the sub- freezing Yukon of Alaska. The stories protagonist is an unnamed man who, besides the admonition of an experienced old man of Sulphur Creek decides to brave the merciless elements to meet his friends at a camp. Alongside him is his companion a large wolf dog. Readers are introduced to the setting at the beginning of the story as it states “day had dawned cold and gray” he continues with the statement “there seemed to be an indescribable darkness over the face of things” (London 64). This presents as ...

Jack London is characterized as a naturalistic writer through most of his literature works, for instance, The Law of Life and To Build a Fire. In the two short stories, Jack incorporates naturalism themes such as nature vs. man, death, and the struggle for survival. The author presents main characters who struggle to survive with the indifference of nature to survive, but they ultimately die as nature wins the war against them. In To Build a Fire, London presents a protagonist who sets out on a journey despite the harsh weather. The man was warned against traveling during the ...

Abstract

In “To Build a Fire,” the man’s lack of imagination; his inability to reflect on and admit the reality of his situation; and to recognize his shortcomings represent mankind’s fatal hubris. Man stands apart from Nature, not understanding that he has a place in it – he does not hold sway. To deny Nature then is, in itself, an unnatural act.

An Unnatural Act: Man’s Fatal Capacity for Hubris

Jack London’s literary landscape is inhabited by characters pitted against the brutal forces of Nature, in which the aim is nothing more or less than survival itself. In this unforgiving world, man’s fundamental existence is stripped of ...