Yukon

sense? Would judgement overrule your instincts? Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is a short story about a man and his dog in a foreign setting. To Build a Fire follows the main protagonist “the man” and his loyal companion as they travel through the Yukon trail in below freezing temperature. While the dog is nervous, the man is confident and continues to ignore the signs of danger. The setting is arguably the most important part of the story; it plays a major role in how the story is executed. He…

Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is a very descriptive story about a nameless name and his travels through the Yukon. The setting is a very important key element to the story. The setting and description of the cold took on a role of its own. This is a story about man verses nature. The setting plays as an antagonist to the nameless man as he fights to survive this tremendous cold. The story begins with a description, a view of the northern landscapes in the winter. It is very cold and assumed…

Jack London’s story To Build a Fire is a story that shows a man vs. nature struggle of a man that is a newcomer to the world of cold. This man is on the Yukon trail towards a group of men during the second gold rush. The man is accompanied only by a wolf-dog. He is warned by an older, wiser man that he should not travel the trail without a companion. The man is stubborn and tells that man he will be all right. Although the man is naive and alone, he is positive that he will be fine as long as…

The Last Great Adventure Imagine what life would be like in the last few years of the 19th century. The great state of Alaska had recently, within the last 30 years in history, become admitted to the United States Union. America was on the verge of beginning the Industrial Revolution where rapid urbanization was about to become commonplace. Although people were flocking to cities to so said create their own version of the American dream, others set out for the gold rush. They were looking…

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…

To Build a Fire story (Dog's Perspective) I was hiking with my owner in the Yukon. Personally I think it was unintelligent to be hiking in this cold weather but I was still forced to by my owner. I like to think that we both needed each other to survive but I was just a pawn in the grand scheme of things. I was a mere test subject I was sent to walk ice because he was to scared too. The first sign of trouble came when he fell into ice, I could not do anything to help him. He had to make…

survival. Humanity and nature combined together allows for a beautiful or deadly situation. Jack London’s perspective of the natural world was noted to be harsh, indifferent, and unstoppable. “To Build a Fire” was located in territory of Canada, Yukon, where cold wind and ice was blown creating harsh wilderness. In addition, the temperature of the setting was seventy-five degrees below zero which is fatally cold. Nature was the antagonist in the story because it continued to provide the man…

move under his feet. He had also heard the snow-covered-ice skin breaking”. “The sun was absent from the sky” this quote tells us that the sun was not shining that day which proves to be very troublesome. In the frigid lands of Canada’s Yukon Territory the temperatures can get very low, even into the negatives, and this alone is a challenge to face. The sun being gone only makes this worse. Already our protagonist is off to a bad start as he is left to make his way in the below…

The sleds groaned by on their steel-shod runners, and the dogs strained low in the harnesses in which they were born to die. Jacques Baptiste paused by the side of Sloper to get a last glimpse of the cabin. The smoke curled up pathetically from the Yukon stove-pipe. The two Incapables were watching them from the doorway. Sloper laid his hand on the other's shoulder. "Jacques Baptiste, did you ever hear of the Kilkenny cats?" The half-breed shook his head. "Well, my friend and good comrade,…

Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is an adventure story of an unnamed protagonist’s futile effort to wander out in the below zero tundra of the Yukon Territory, joined by his dog, to visit his friends. Overlooking the risks of venturing out alone, the man then underestimates the harsh weather conditions and slowly begins to freeze to death in the snow. Willa Cather’s “Neighbour Rosicky” is a character study of Anton Rosicky, a man who, confronting the approach of death, reflects on the meaning and…