Themes In Jack London's To Build A Fire

“To Build a Fire” by Jack London
When reading a story, it is often difficult to truly understand the message if the author cannot properly communicate it to the reader. Through the use of literary devices, authors can ensure that readers fully comprehend the meaning of the story. A general theme in literature would be that humans are flawed creatures. However, an author can communicate this in a way that makes the reader relate and understand this message. In Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire”, the author elicits an understanding of the theme. This story follows a tale of a man versus nature scenario, where a man is travelling alongside a dog in the frosty regions of the Yukon. Though there are many warning signs that show that this …show more content…
In using the infinitive of ‘build’ in the story’s title, “To Build a Fire”, rather than the past or present tense of ‘build’, the author suggests that the fire has not been built. Although a fire had been created in the story, when the man had stepped in a pool of water underneath a sheet of ice, it was not successful as it was put out before the man could actually warm his feet, “But before he could cut the strings, it happened. It was his own fault or, rather, his mistake” (107). This quote refers to the fact that in his own unconsciousness of the situation, the man had built the fire under a spruce tree. This was a mistake because atop the tree, there was snow, and when the wind blew, “it descended without warning upon the man and the fire, and the fire was blotted out!” (108). Due to the man’s inability to properly assess the situation, his fire was gone. The fire represented his chance at survival. After his fire was out, the man’s situation began to presage a disaster. This series of events leading to his death was in actuality, a result of his ignorance at the beginning of the story, when he was unable to imagine the circumstances he went into. Overall, the fire symbolized his shred of hope at survival and since it did not last, the word ‘build’ in the title remains an infinitive, suggesting that the fire would have been built, had the man not been blinded by his superiority. Another indication of symbolism would be through the anonymity of the characters. In the story, the man is simply referred to as just, “the man”, and is given no name. London is creating this character as a representation of all people. Because the man has no real name, the readers find themselves able imagine themselves in a similar situation and making the same mistakes. “The man” refers to or symbolizes human ignorance as a whole; not just one person. In doing so, the author is