To Build a Fire
In “To Build a Fire” by Jack London the man and the dog start off as traveling friends, but then they realize they have different perspectives on survival techniques. Whereas the dog knows it is way too cold to be on a hike, the man takes it as a little adventure. Even though the man thought he was prepared to hike at these blistering temperatures, he found out he was not as prepared as he thought he was. The man tries to defeat Mother Nature but finds out the hard way he is just not prepared enough to support a man and dog.
The man has this attitude towards the environment is as if he owns it or can control it which we eventually find out Mother Nature won the battle. At negative seventy degrees no one can survive in that weather especially when one is not prepared. The man believed he would be able to survive off biscuits, no water and no shelter. As he continues through his adventure, he learns that he is not in control, Mother Nature is in all control and not letting down. The first clue that he should not have taken this trip is the negative seventy degrees with no sight of sunlight in days. “The old-timer had been very serious in laying down the law that no man must travel alone in the Klondoke after fifty below” (119). When he ran into the “old timer of Sulphur Creek” the man should have put his ego away and listened to the old timer when he said it’s not smart to out there in these kind of temperatures cause someone will die. The old timer was could not have been correct when he was saying to travel with someone, because at those temperatures not only could you be able to carry everything but you also need another person to help build a place to sleep and a fire. The old timer was right; the man should not have been out in negative seventy-five whereas the man should have listened to the dogs instincts as well.
What I thought was interesting about the story is the relationship between the man and dog. When one thinks of a man and dogs relationship, they
The man has this attitude towards the environment is as if he owns it or can control it which we eventually find out Mother Nature won the battle. At negative seventy degrees no one can survive in that weather especially when one is not prepared. The man believed he would be able to survive off biscuits, no water and no shelter. As he continues through his adventure, he learns that he is not in control, Mother Nature is in all control and not letting down. The first clue that he should not have taken this trip is the negative seventy degrees with no sight of sunlight in days. “The old-timer had been very serious in laying down the law that no man must travel alone in the Klondoke after fifty below” (119). When he ran into the “old timer of Sulphur Creek” the man should have put his ego away and listened to the old timer when he said it’s not smart to out there in these kind of temperatures cause someone will die. The old timer was could not have been correct when he was saying to travel with someone, because at those temperatures not only could you be able to carry everything but you also need another person to help build a place to sleep and a fire. The old timer was right; the man should not have been out in negative seventy-five whereas the man should have listened to the dogs instincts as well.
What I thought was interesting about the story is the relationship between the man and dog. When one thinks of a man and dogs relationship, they