How Did Jack London Survive

There are many factor that determines your survival in the wilderness. To survive, you not only need enough and correct supplies but you also need luck and to stay calm. In the story “To Build a Fire” the man and the dog was trying to cross the Yukon Territory of northern Canada and he was traveling under freezing cold weather. To him, fifty degrees below zero simply meant a danger of frostbite and the need for warm clothes. It did not lead him to think about how vulnerable he was in this frozen wilderness. Nor did it lead him to have humility about his place in the universe. At last he end up dying in the wilderness. In the short story, “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the main character, “the man,” was responsible for his situation because

he did not take advice from the old timer, was overconfident, and unable to stay calm.
First of all, the man was responsible for his situation because he did not take the advice of the old timer on Sulphur Creek.

For instance, the old timer said not to travel when it was colder than 50 below. “He knew that at fifty below spit crackled on the snow, but this spit had crackled in the air, which meant that it was colder than fifty below. But it did not matter.” It showed that the man knew it was colder than fifty because his spit froze before it hit the ground. He should not have continued traveling after he realized that but he went anyway. Also, he travelled alone even though the old timer said not to. “He was bound for the old mine near Henderson Creek, where his friends were already gathered. He had come a different way, alone, to check on the chances of getting logs in the spring.” It demonstrated that the man travelled with just the grey husky even though the rest of his friends took a different route to camp. He did not stay with them and went by himself instead. He want to check out the logging

areas.
Secondly, in the story the man was too confident and he thinks he can get there safely. So therefor he should be responsibly for his situation. One evidence would be he was not worried when he forgot to build a fire before his lunch fire before eating. “Suddenly he realized that h had forgotten to build a fire and thaw out. He chuckled at his foolishness.” It explains that he thought it was funny that he forgot to build a fire and it shows that he doesn’t think it was a problem. Also he was not worried when he got wet. “Well, here he was. He had had the accident, he was alone and he had saved himself.” He was proud of himself for dealing with his situation alone, this shows how cocky he is.
Finally, “The man” was responsible for his situation because he was unable to stay calm and he is doing stuff without thinking.

For example, he was trying to kill the dog. “He would kill the dog and bury his hands in the warm body until the numbness went. Then he could build another fire.” “Then he realized that he could not kill the dog with his helpless hands.” This shows he is panicking because he wasn’t actually able to kill the dog because his hands were too frozen to work and he is not thinking clearly. He was also trying to run up the trail. “In a panic, he turned and ran up the old, dim trail.” “Several times he stumbled, and finally he tottered, crumpled up, and fell” This shows he is not calm because he is trying to run when he physically cannot; he stumbles up the trail and finally

falls.
However, I believed that the man should be responsible for his situation and actions for many reasons. For example, he didn’t listen to the old timer’s advice, was over confident, and he can not stay calm. He is missing a lot of factors to survive such as stay in calm and luck.