Yukon

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…

focuses on the life of Christopher McCandless; a graduate of Emory University and gifted athlete who has the irresistible urge to make it to the Alaskan frontier. Comparably, “To Build a Fire” centers around the unnamed main character who explores the Yukon in the extreme cold. When McCandless arrives to his destination, he drifts off of the main trail and is forced to venture alone to find his way; likewise, London’s character goes off of the main trail purposefully. Into the Wild and “To Build…

pieces can be interpreted differently by different readers I believe this short story has much to offer about life and the lessons it gives us. The first lesson is to listen and heed warnings. The old man in the story was warned not to go into the Yukon by himself. The temperatures were 50 below zero and nature can be unforgiving. The old man did not listen and ultimately this lead to his death. The second lesson is to listen and observe the things around you. The old man had opportunities to…

In “To build a fire”, Jack London tells the story of a Man and his dog’s journey on the Yukon trail as they go against nature to reach camp. London was born in 1876 to a working class family. Throughout his life he worked many jobs such as a gold prospector in the Klondike. While working in the Klondike he got the inspiration for “to build a fire” and then based it on some of his experiences, like facing the harsh arctic temperatures. The man in this story goes against extreme weather conditions…

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…

Jack London wrote both “To build a fire” and Call of the Wild. In these two writing pieces he shared many similarities and differences in the main characters evolution and details throughout the writing. In To build a fire the story takes place in a cold place that is more than fifty degrees below zero. There is a man who is trying to get back to his two boys. On his journey he takes his dog. In their journey they are faced with many challenges. For example, the cold is too much for the man to…

“The day broke cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey” (London 76). In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”, the man in the story is faced with the ultimate cold in the Yukon climate. He comes across challenges that could be life or death in certain situations, and he must focus and maintain his cool. Eventually, he ends up dying because he wasn’t prepared for the climate he was facing. Three things that got the man killed in the story were that he unsuccessfully built a fire when he needed to, he…

extreme temperatures or lack of experience, the man often learns a lot about himself through this struggle. Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire,” is a tragic story about a man who decides to travel alone throughout the bad environment of the Yukon in sub-freezing temperatures and he falls his journey. Because of the unforgiving power of nature. During his journey, the man gets his feet wet as he falls through the ice into the water then his feet start to freeze. The setting in “To Build…

alone. He was not smart about going into the wild alone because he didn’t listen to the man about if it is below -50 degrees, to go with a partner. He was very inconsistent about his knowledge about the cold. He is making a nine hour trek across the Yukon with only his dog in the bitter cold. One way he was erratic in his decision was even when it was gloomy, bitter, numbing cold, the man is not worried. How could you not be worried if your hands/feet are numb? Everybody and I…

of the ice cracking beneath your feet. You are traveling through the Yukon alone, and slowly facing death. You are the man from Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. Journeying between camps in an attempt to make it back to the boys the man encounters obstacles and makes foolish mistakes that lead to his eventual death. The three things that lead to the man being killed were his decisions to travel alone through the treacherous Yukon climate, building a fire under a tree, and being too prideful to…