Survival In Jack London's To Build A Fire

“Water is one of the basic needs of survival of mankind and water can destroy it, too. That is the power of nature. But there is an even more powerful dimension of nature which is a blessing to humans; courage, intelligence, compassion and the power to stand again,”-Vikas Khanna. In the story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the main character failed to have courage and intelligence. With these qualities along with following the 12 steps in “Deep Survival” by Laurence Gonzales, he would have had a greater chance of survival. The protagonist did not stay calm, surrender his fears, and perceive and believe. The first reason that the main character died is because he does not follow step two: Stay calm (Gonzales 98). If the protagonist would …show more content…
The main character should have realized what kind of situation he was in and believed that he could come out of it alive. The man pictures his body frozen and begins to believe he has no way to survive (London 90). By following this step, he could have used this thought to motivate himself to never give in. The next opportunity that the main character could have held on was when he gave up on killing the dog. If the death of the dog was the man’s last chance of living, he would have figured a way to complete the task (London 89). Lastly, the protagonist decides that he is a fool for running around trying to keep his body from freezing (London 90). The man gave up and made the decision that he had no choice but losing his body parts, then dying. Losing hope was one of many reasons that the main character died. The main character did not follow the steps in “Deep Survival” by Laurence Gonzales. The man in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London ran in terror, gave up on ways to live, and doubted himself. Therefore, surrendering his fears, never giving up, and believing that he could succeed are only three of many steps that would been prolonged the protagonist’s