Imagine being stuck in the coldest environment possible. It is so cold that your limbs can barely move and the condensation from your breath freezes. This is what it’s like in the harsh Yukon climate, the setting of “To Build a Fire,” by Jack London. In the story, a man’s three biggest mistakes were ignoring the old man from Sulphur creek’s advice, having bad judgement, and travelling alone. One mistake the man made was ignoring the old man’s knowledgeable advice. The old man on Sulphur Creek gave the man many pieces of advice, which he chose to ignore. When the old man informs him about how cold it is, the man just laughs rather than taking the advice and being prepared. The man was also very arrogant about the advice of never travelling alone. “Any man who was a man could travel alone” (London, 270). In the end, he finally realized that he should’ve listened to the old man because he was right.
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He made many bad decisions with judgement which led to his death in the end. Building a fire under a snow-covered tree was one example of poor judgement. He did not leave for the journey prepared, he only brought the clothes on his back and lunch. Even the dog seemed to have better instincts than the man. “Its instinct told it a truer tale than was told to the man by the man’s judgement” (London, 69). Lastly, the man had forgotten to build a fire at one point. He laughed it off but this could have been a life-threatening
He made many bad decisions with judgement which led to his death in the end. Building a fire under a snow-covered tree was one example of poor judgement. He did not leave for the journey prepared, he only brought the clothes on his back and lunch. Even the dog seemed to have better instincts than the man. “Its instinct told it a truer tale than was told to the man by the man’s judgement” (London, 69). Lastly, the man had forgotten to build a fire at one point. He laughed it off but this could have been a life-threatening