Jack London's To Build A Fire

Would you be able to survive in sub zero temperatures by yourself? This is what happened in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. In the story a man is warned by an old timer not to go hiking by himself in below freezing temperatures. The man ignores the old-timers warning. The man starts hiking up a high earth bank on the Yukon trail. It was nine o’clock when he reached the top. The man along with his dog stay on the hiking trail hoping to make it to the camp where his buddies are. The man encounters a series of unfortunate events which lead to his demise. Although the man reached his demise he displayed poor decision-making skills, he was un-willing to listen, but he had the will to survive. The man in the story seems to make poor decisions through out the story. The man decides to follow a trail that no one has traveled in a while London writes, “He plunged in among the big spruce trees. The

The old-timer had warned the man by saying that a person should not hike alone in temperatures that are so far below zero. At on point the man thought to himself, “All this time the man knew. The old-timer on Sulphur Creek had told him about it the previous fall, and now he was appreciating the advice” (London 838). The mans dog had also gave the man hints that he should turn back. When the man built the first fire. After he got warm he continued his hike. The dog didn’t want to leave the warmth of the fire. The dog kept turning back in the direction of the warm fire, but the man would call for the dog. Being mans best friend the dog would do as the man wished. The man should have paid more attention to the dog’s actions. “And like the dog it wanted to hide away and cover its self up from the fearful cold” (London 838). The old-timer and the dog both tried to warn the man about how dangerous it was. The man should have listened to