Essay on To Build a Fire a Short Story by Jack London

To build a fire is a short story written by Jack London. It is a story about an individual’s choice. The main character’s self-centeredness overcomes him, as he tries to survive the wintery weather in his travel in the Yukon Trail. He made a choice of ignoring the weather warnings, which evidenced danger in his journey. There were warnings like the absence of fellow travelers due to the cold season, but his egoism made him still embark on the journey alone, despite the warnings. The protagonist’s pride and arrogance leads to a regrettable outcome, as it leads to his downfall. The protagonist made the wrong choices because of his egotism, and arrogance and they led to his downfall. He defied nature due to his lack of logical judgment, and†¦show more content†¦He was short sighted because, he sees danger ahead of him, but assumes that there is nothing wrong. He was insensitive to the harsh weather conditions he was facing. The narrator saw the effects of t he harsh cold weather, but he exhorts himself in continuing with the journey to the camp. He was just trying to be stubborn, and his pride made him believe that he will be a hero by beating all the odds of the cold weather, by reaching the camp safe and sound. The narrator was overestimating his abilities, and his pride and arrogance clouds his logical thinking into making the right choice, which was to turn back, other than moving on with the journey. The narrator negated the advice given to him that, no man should travel alone in the Yukon when the temperature is sixty degrees below zero. He failed to heed to the advice because he thought of how he had saved himself from the accident, and had built the fire alone. This was pride ruling him not knowing that, he was risking his life. His arrogance made him believe that he can make it all alone, and alive. The main character’s poor decisions led to his death. He was not compatible with the cold weather, and thus could not make it alone as his pride, and arrogance made him believe. His arrogance caused his death, because he imagined that he had the ability to travel alone in the harsh cold weather, and ignored the advice given to him. This instance of the narrator dying, because he thoughtShow MoreRelatedâ€Å"To Build a Fire† Essay845 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"To Build a Fire† is a short story written by Jack London. It is viewed as a masterpiece of naturalist fiction. â€Å"To Build a Fire† features a miner who is traveling to the Yukon Territory with a dog as his companion. The miner is the protagonist and the dog companion is called the foil. The dog plays off of the traits of the protagonist. â€Å"The central motif of â€Å"To Build a Fire† concerns the struggle of man versus nature.† (Short Story Criticism) The most argued point in the short story is the reasonRead MoreJack Londons To Build A Fire Essay1025 Words   |  5 PagesThis author though was one who p ortrayed himself through dozens of short stories. His name is Jack London. Jack London is a writer who shows the conflict between Nature versus Man in his writings and supports this theme through his work, â€Å"To Build a Fire.† Jack was born on January 12, 1876 and died on November 22, 1916. He is best known for his nature novels depicting how nature can sometimes be so powerful that it overcomes man. Jack was deserted by his father when he was eleven and was mainly raisedRead MoreJack London Naturalism Analysis952 Words   |  4 Pagesand were inspired by their previous experiences. Jack London is an example of someone who rose from the bottom. 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These two short stories demonstrate London’s vivid style through the use of figurative language, measurements, point of view, and tone; these stories and their themes about nature’s power over man are als o clearly influenced by movements in literature. One of Jack London s short stories, To Build a Fire is about aRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Build A Fire With The Film The Revenant 1558 Words   |  7 PagesNAME: TEJALBEN PATEL ID NO.121927156 To Compare and contrast the short story â€Å"To Build a Fire† with the film â€Å"The Revenant† The Battle of Nature versus Man Following the Romantic Period, a significant number of American writers for a better source of inspiration that has more to do with each day existence than the metaphorical or supernatural. The writers turned to research and the harsh realities of the universeRead MoreNaturalism In Jack Londons To Build A Fire828 Words   |  4 PagesThe main theme of â€Å"To Build a Fire† by Jack London is naturalism. 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The freezing Alaskan wilderness is one in the stars of both To Build a Fire and the Call of the Wild. â€Å"The Yukon