According to Hunter Thompson, “Luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster, and not many people can keep their balance on it.” In “To Build a Fire,” by Jack London, the man was clumsy and fell to the side of disaster. According to the tips in “Deep Survival,” by Laurence Gonzales, there are many steps the man could have taken that would have given him a better shot at surviving. For example, the man may have survived if he would have taken correct, decisive action, if he would have stayed calm, and if he would have surrendered. Each time that he failed to complete these actions, it was like the wind blew and pushed him closer to his final disaster.
The man had numerous chances to take correct, decisive action. For example, the man knew that spit would freeze
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when it hit the ground if it was fifty below (London 78). When his spit froze in midair, he knew that it was colder than fifty below. Even with this information, he neglected to seek shelter. Another example of when he failed to take correct, decisive action was when he was preparing for lunch. In the quarter of a minute that it took the man to get his lunch out of his shirt, his fingers had fallen numb, leaving him to strike them against his leg to regain the feeling (London 82). This should have been the first sign that he needed to build a fire and warm up before he ate; however, the thought did not cross his mind. The next sign that he ignored was the ice muzzle that was formed from his spitting habit. He failed to realize that it would prevent him from eating his lunch unless he built a fire to thaw it out (London 82). Eventually, after multiple other missed signs, the man built the fire and stayed with it for a few moments before deciding to leave. That was his next incorrect action. The man knew that it was too cold to travel, especially alone, yet he chose to abandon the warmth of the fire and continue on his journey into the bitter cold. He should have stayed by the fire and kept warm until he had no choice but to move on. Although the man’s actions had a heavy impact on his survival, they were not the only measures that he could have taken to ensure his safe reunion with the guys. He needed to stay calm. The way to do that is by controlling the fear (Gonzales 96). More times than not, the roles were reversed to where the fear controlled the man. For example, when the numbness from the cold crept into his fingers and toes, he panicked and began to stomp up and down and smash his hands against his legs (London 83). If he had stayed calm, he may have realize that it made better sense to make a fire and then trot around it if he was still feeling numb. It could have also helped to stay calm when found himself unable to clutch the bark (London 86). Instead, he got the murderous idea in his head to use the dog’s carcass to warm his hands (88). If he would have remained calm, he would have realized that the dog had offered several clues that could have guided the man to his survival. That was not the last time the man acted on impulse rather than staying calm. When the man realized that he was in a life or death situation, he ran blindly into the cold in attempts to make it to the guys (London 89). His whole focus was on making it to the guys when he should have focused on being safe and staying warm. Had he been less worried about making it to the guys and more worried about staying warm, his various panics could have been avoided. Surrendering is the tenth step to survival in “Deep Survival.” A key to surrendering is letting go of the fear of dying, putting away the pain (Gonzales 98).
Many cases appeared in “To Build a Fire” where the man could have surrendered without giving up (Gonzales 98). For example, after the man broke through the ice and wet himself to the knees, he could not let go of the fact that his feet were freezing even though his hands would not work (London 86). If he had let go of the fact that his feet were freezing, he would have been able to think more clearly and find a way around using his hands. Another example of the man not letting go would be when he could not shake the thought that he would never make it to camp with the guys (London 89). If he would have put this behind him, he would have been able to focus on his safety from the start of his journey. Not only could he not let the possibility that he would not meet with the guys go, he could not let go of the fear of dying. He let it get to him instead, which only made him act without thinking. Had the man surrendered in any of these cases and let go of his fears, he would have been able to clear his mind to think of better ways of
survival. Hunter Thompson was right when he said, “Luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster, and not many people can keep their balance on it.” Gonzales wrote about many behaviors and thoughts that survivors have in common in “Deep Survival.” The man in “To Build a Fire,” by Jack London, rarely exhibited any of the behaviors of the survivors. It’s too bad he did not have what it took to brave the weather and keep his balance.
The man was so confident that he thought he had many protecting to keep him warm and last through the hold snowy trip. ”He held on through the level stretch of woods for several miles, crossed a wide flat of rigger-heads, and dropped down a bank to the frozen bed of a small stream. This was Henderson Creek, and he knew he was ten miles from the forks. He looked at his watch. It was ten o'clock. He was making four miles an hour, and he calculated that he would arrive at the forks at half-past twelve. He decided to celebrate that event by eating his lunch there” (London par. 8 ). This shows that he was confident that he would last through the whole trip with what he is just wearing. He was also confident because he was moving fast and he thought he was traveling fast but he was not traveling quick enough. “He was. pleased at the speed he had made. If he kept it up, he would certainly be with the boys by six. He unbuttoned his jacket and shirt and drew forth his lunch. The action consumed no more than a quarter of a minute, yet in that brief moment the numbness laid hold of the exposed fingers. He did not put the mitten on, but, instead struck the fingers a dozen sharp smashes against his leg.” (London par. 14). He was confident on how fast he moved and stopped and relax to enjoy his frozen
In the course of human history, man has managed to do some really dumb things. Whether it’s because we lack sufficient knowledge, make a mistake, or are just too stubborn to use sound judgement, dumb decisions are made every day by everyone. However, none have a greater level of stupidity than the choices made by the man in Jack London’s To Build a Fire. This is a story of pride, ignorance, and stupidity, which ultimately leads to the downfall of its main character. This short story is a caution against over confidence and unpreparedness, showing the harsh effects of both. Ultimately, it is an issue of man’s pride versus the harsh conditions of nature. It shows that one cannot simply overlook nature, because doing so can lead to the destruction
Christopher McCandless had always admired the works of Jack London. He even went as far as naming Jack London “king”. McCandless relished the naturalisitc elements of London’s writings, elements that he chose to ignore in his own life. Jack London often depicted men as being controlled by their environment and being unable to withstand any heavy circumstances. He depicted themes about the frailty of man and man’s inability to overcome nature. But McCandless clearly did not take away any of the valuable lessons from these stories. He hailed London as “king” but never truly learned from London’s stories, dying in a tragically ironic way when he came to meet the same fate as the protagonist in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. Christopher McCandless
Jack London’s To Build a Fire follows an unnamed protagonist, who’s only referred to as “the man”, as he travels the Yukon Trail during a severe snow storm. Along with his husky wolf-dog, he determined to meet friends at an old junction by six o’clock. The man, who was warned not travel in the Klondike alone, presses forward through the terrain’s harsh weather. He later falls through the snow in what looked to be a secure spot. With his feet and fingers soaked, he starts a fire and begins drying himself. The man constructs the fire under a spruce tree in order to take its twigs and drop them directly onto the fire. Each time he pulled a twig a branch overturned its load of snow, eventually blotting out the fire. He grabs all his matches and lights them simultaneously to set fire to a piece of bark; it soon goes out. The man decides to kill the dog and use its warm body to restore his circulation, but is unable to kill the animal and lets the dog go. The man attempts to run from the thought of freezing to death but he quickly falls down. He decides he should meet death in a more dignified manner; the man falls off into a calm sleep.
A person's next move can affect them and someone in their life without them even realizing it. So why would they want to make the decision that could result in a sudden death in their family ? It is only right they be held accountable for the steps that lead up to or occurred after, they got entrapped in a life or death situation unless, it happens to be an accident.
In “To Build A Fire”, the main conflict throughout is man versus nature although it would be inaccurate to say that nature goes out of its way to assault the man. The fact of the matter is, nature would be just as cold without the man's presence regardless of him being there .The environment as a whole is completely indifferent to the man, as it frequently is in naturalist literature. The bitter environment does not aid him in any way, and it will not notice if he perishes. In the same way, the dog does not care about the man, only about itself. Ironically enough though, as the man was dying he was getting upset toward the dog because of its natural warmth, the instincts that it had, and its survival skills and those were the elements that the man lacked for survival. It is ironic that the man had to die in order to find out that man's fragile body cannot survive in nature's harsh elements, regardless of a human’s natural over-confidence and psychological strength.
Jack London has written a classic short story in the 1908 version of "To Build a Fire." This is the classic story of man fighting nature. In most genres (e.g. movies, novels, short stories) the main character comes out on top, however unlikely that is. Jack London takes literary naturalism and shows the reader how unmerciful nature is. Much like Stephen Crane in "The Open Boat," in which the one of the characters dies, London doesn't buy into that "has to have a good ending" contrivance. Through analysis of two London's letters (to R.W. Gilder and Cloudesly Johns) these two versions of "To Build a Fire" come alive with new meaning. Although there are many differences on the surface, both stories use his philosophy as expressed to Johns and both teach a moral lesson, one which will not soon be forgotten: "Never travel alone."
Providing the separation between survival and death. setting was the most important factor in "Building a Fire" by Jack London. Works Cited and Consulted Hendricks, King. Jack London: Master Craftsman of the Short Story. Logan: Utah State U P. 1966.
...him reach the truth. But he didn’t stop, he pushed on until he beat his dilemma. It was this mentality that helped him to succeed, he knew what he wanted to do and he wasn’t stopping until he achieved that.
In response to the romantic period (1798-1870), authors began to focus their writing on ordinary people and their everyday lives rather than the supernatural, nationalism, heroism, and strange and faraway places, themes characteristic of romantic literature. In the story “To Build a Fire” shows what a realism story looks like. Everything about it is based on real events that can happen, is realistic. Whatever happens to the man, you can relate to because you know how cold it can get and maybe you also can relate how hard it is to build a fire. A lot of people, like the man in the story, sometimes arent as bright in the head and can be the cause of their own problem. In the story there is a part where the man fails to kill the dog because his hands are frozen, shows how a lot of times you cant accomplish something, you fail. Instead of a happy ending and expecting for the man to find his way back to camp, he does not, he dies, adds that very realistic event that would of happened to many other people and the story has a bad ending
After analyzing what this character chooses to do, it is easy to detect characteristics of resiliency. These characteristics resemble Chris from Into the Wild. For example, the ability to recover from challenging situations is shown in the following quote: “Placing it on the foundation, he fed the young flame with wisps of dry grass and with the tiniest dry twigs. He worked slowly and carefully, keenly aware of his danger. Gradually, as the flame grew stronger, he increased the size of the twigs with which he fed it.” (London) This quote also reveals that the character possesses the ability to act independently, another characteristic of resilient people. The character, after falling through ice, must build a fire to ensure survival. The fact that he is capable of building the fire at all shows that he can willingly recover from demanding situations. Despite the taxing situations the character has been through, he continues on to attempt to meet up with his friends, “At half past twelve, to the minute, he arrived at the forks of the creek. He was pleased at the speed he had made. If he kept it up, he would certainly be with the boys by six.” (London) This shows that he can readily recover from adversity, and that he possesses resilient
Overconfidence and Arrogance in To Build a Fire by Jack London Overconfidence and arrogance led to the death of the man in Jack London's "To Build a Fire. " This overconfidence in his own abilities led to him making poor decisions and scorning the advice of those who know what they are talking about. Instead, he laughs at the old man after he tells him "a man should travel with a partner" (1769) and goes out into the frigid weather anyway.
When the narrator introduced the main character of the story, the man, he made it clear that the man was in a perilous situation involving the elements. The man was faced with weather that was 75 degrees below zero and he was not physically or mentally prepared for survival. London wrote that the cold "did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, and upon man's frailty in general, able only to live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold."(p.1745) At first when the man started his journey to the camp, he felt certain that he could make it back to camp before dinner. As the trip progressed, the man made mistake after mistake that sealed his fate. The man's first mistake was to step into a pool of water and soak his legs to the knees. This blunder forced the man to build a fire to dry his wet socks and shoes so his feet would not freeze and become frostbitten. When the man began to build a fire he failed to notice that he was doing so under a large, snow laden spruce tree where he was getting his firewood. When the man had a small fire that was beginning to smolder the disturbance to the tree caused the snow to tumble to the ground and extinguish the fire. "It was his own fault or, rather, his mistake. He should not have built the fire under the spruce tree. He should have built it in the open."(1750).
Obviously that was not the situation which was meant to occur. The cold served as a lesson to be taught to all explorers who would set foot into the never-ending winter from that day on. The continuous efforts that the man made to start a fire symbolize his will to survive. No will however is match for mother nature. The suffering man took on the role as a great teacher and hopefully preserver of life for generations to come.
Karen Rhodes analyzed to build a fire in a cultural context. He believed "London's works were written so that he could survive in a world he increasingly came to see as "red in tooth and claw""(1). It is obviously the story of a man fighting the stresses of Nature. According to Rhodes, to build a fire was drawn from the year London spent in Canada's Yukon Territory. London depicted arctic and very cold conditions throughout the story. Rhodes believed to build a fire represented London's Naturalistic Flavor. "It pits one man alone against the overwhelming forces of nature"(Karen Rhodes, 1). He also believed to build a fire can either be interpreted as the Pioneer American experience or can be read as an allegory for the journey of human existence (Karen Rhodes, 1). According to Rhodes, there are two versions of to build a fire; the first one was written in 1902 while the second one was written in 1908. We are studying the 1908 version." It has come to be known as everyman trekking through the Naturalistic Universe"(Karen Rhodes, 1). To build a fire is indeed the story of a man trekking through the universe alone except for his dog. The man's death at the end was the culmination of the story. " His death came through no lapse of observation, no lack of diligence, no real folly but the nature of himself and his environment" (Karen Rhodes, 2). I think his is a fine criticism of London's to build a fire. London had made use of his life experiences in writing the story.