Forshadowing In To Build A Fire By Jack London

Arrogance is defined as having or revealing an exaggerated sense of ones’ own importance or abilities (dictionary.com). In “To Build a Fire,” Jack London uses foreshadowing, repetition, and conflict to represent the extent the main character goes to in order to satisfy his need for greed. The main character, referred to as “the man,” and his dog go on an expedition to a mining camp in the Alaskan Klondike in search of gold. The man is told by an elder Alaskan native to never travel alone, but instead of listening to the native the main character decides to try and make the journey on his own in order to reunite with his friends at the camp. To begin with, in this short story Jack London utilizes foreshadowing in order to represent the prediction

The repetition of the man’s failure to build a fire eliminates his unforeseen survival. As the man begins his journey and builds his first fire he contemplates the old timers’ advice about never traveling alone. He thought to himself about the icy temperatures and the severity of the cold that’s freezing his cheeks and nose. The author describes “a fire, snapping and cackling and promising life with every dancing flame” giving the man aspiration to live (London 393). The repetition of the fire and the metaphor used in this quote shows the significance of the fire. The fire has life and the strength to keep progressing, so keeping the fire going is essential to the man’s endurance. The repetition of the fire represents the way the man will

The man was clever in bringing the companionship of his dog, but was arrogant for not paying attention. After using all his matches and supplies on his failed fires the only chance the man had left to stay alive was to try and make it to camp. During his entire journey the intelligent dog remained loyal. The author states that regardless of how the man treated him “the dog ran with him at his heels”. (London 397). A dog has instincts greater than man, especially when it comes to traveling in such treacherous conditions. The dog remains loyal and knew in order to survive, they must remain by the fire to prepare for the rest of their journey. The man, whose arrogance got the best of him, had no intention of staying with his dog. During the end of the short story the man realizes he’s never going to make it to the camp. In order to try and withstand the weather the man calls the dog to him in hopes of killing it to use its fur for warmth. Knowing there is something wrong the dog runs away from the man and heads to the camp. By the end of the short story the man never makes it to camp. He realizes when he begins to lose feeling in his entire body that he shouldn’t travel alone. The man thought he was smarter than the dog, and instead of following the dog’s instincts he became even more conceited creating the conflict between man verses