Throughout the short story “To Build A Fire”, Jack London brings to life a surreal visualization of what the frigid wilderness can do to both a person's mental and physical abilities. London uses many different literary techniques to convey the character’s experiences vividly. He gives a solid personality to the character and provides the reader with enough detail to feel as if they were there walking with the man through the harsh Yukon wilderness. It is in this young, inexperienced man that Jack London demonstrates that all the wisdom and knowledge one has is no substitute for good advice and common sense. From the beginning of the man’s journey, he is ignorant towards the realities of nature. Time and time again the character notes
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As a young explorer, the man in the short story is careless when making decisions. He broke through the ice and was forced to start a fire to dry his wet feet or he would die (21). London stated, “The fire was a success. He was safe.” At this point he began to gloat in his short-lived accomplishment as he thought “Well, here he was; he had had the accident; he was alone; and he had saved himself. Those old-timers were rather womanish, some of them, he thought” (21). The character’s luck would change however. He no longer had time to boast in his glory because out of his own fault, rather, his mistake, he had built the fire under a “spruce tree”. The fire should have been built in the open. An avalanche of snow covered the man and the fire, and the fire was “blotted out” (London 21). He then would try to start the fire with the remaining matches he had. He was unable to restart the fire and was then left hopeless. As stated by Campbell and Berkove in “The Critical Reception of Jack London”, civilization and its technological tools, including the matches that can ignite a fire, fail in such a landscape, forcing human beings to learn to respect the limitations of their tools and the strength of their wilderness adversary (97). The incident basically was a death sentence for the helpless man. He then reflected, “Perhaps the old-timer on Sulpher Creek was
As a young explorer, the man in the short story is careless when making decisions. He broke through the ice and was forced to start a fire to dry his wet feet or he would die (21). London stated, “The fire was a success. He was safe.” At this point he began to gloat in his short-lived accomplishment as he thought “Well, here he was; he had had the accident; he was alone; and he had saved himself. Those old-timers were rather womanish, some of them, he thought” (21). The character’s luck would change however. He no longer had time to boast in his glory because out of his own fault, rather, his mistake, he had built the fire under a “spruce tree”. The fire should have been built in the open. An avalanche of snow covered the man and the fire, and the fire was “blotted out” (London 21). He then would try to start the fire with the remaining matches he had. He was unable to restart the fire and was then left hopeless. As stated by Campbell and Berkove in “The Critical Reception of Jack London”, civilization and its technological tools, including the matches that can ignite a fire, fail in such a landscape, forcing human beings to learn to respect the limitations of their tools and the strength of their wilderness adversary (97). The incident basically was a death sentence for the helpless man. He then reflected, “Perhaps the old-timer on Sulpher Creek was