Jack London To Build A Fire Analysis

In To Build a Fire, Jack London’s story talks about a man who decided to take a journey alone in the hostile environment of Yukon that tragically leads to his death. The man is new to the area since he came from the south. Also, he is new to such cold, harsh weather. The story begins when the man wants to take a journey to the boys that are prospecting for gold. However, his arrogant prevents him from listening to the old-timer from Sulphur Creek who warned him about the danger of traveling alone when the temperature is below fifty degrees and he started his journey alone in sub-freezing weather. Throughout the story, and through his journey, the man learned a lot of new things and went through many obstacles, also he got accompanied with a husky dog. However, the man seems naïve about the area and, he lacks a lot of essential skills like the right way to build a fire and what should he do in case of emergency. Later on he started to get astonished by the cold and the area. All that leads to his accidents that eventually leads to his death. Many would think that London’s story is talking about what a man’s …show more content…
Throughout the end of the story, the man was struggling to stay a life. He wanted to build another fire but he did not succeed because most of his body was frozen. In Why the Man Dies in 'To Build a Fire, George R. Adams stated that “because of a conjunction of arrogance, inexperience, and bad luck, the man learns the hardest way a bitter "law" of the Yukon.” Also, the man finally admits that he should have listened to the advice of the old man from Sulpher Creek by saying “If he only had a trail mate he would have been in no danger now” (London 117). The Knowledge of failure and the hostile to change his fate at the end of the story what best describe this stage of men in general. Even though he wanted to make a difference, he cannot due to his