Follow Your Instincts In this particular short story‚ author Jack London introduces a man and a dog on foot traveling to reach a specific destination in very rigid temperatures in a sub-polar area. The man who is never named can be characterized as determined‚ full of procrastination‚ and downright naïve. At the beginning of the reading‚ the story starts off as an adventurous journey with a man and a dog who are trying to reach a location where the “boys” are by six o’clock. It does not seem
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Jack London : Biography "You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club" (BrainyQuote). This is one of Jack London’s more well known quotes. Jack London was born as John Griffith Chaney on January 12‚ 1876‚ in San Francisco("Jack London"). His mother was Flora Wellman and his father was suspected to be astrologer William H. Chaney‚ who denied his paternity and abandoned London’s mother(Wilson). London was suckled‚ or nursed‚ by an ex-slave named Virginia Prentiss‚ who
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The Man vs Nature is a theme London uses in two of his stories‚ where his characters have to survive the hard weather conditions the Arctic landscape presents and most importantly‚ how to attempt to face death in extreme cases. In Jack London´s To Build a Fire and The Law of Life‚ the protagonists of the two stories develop a survival behavior that increases as we read‚ leaving the stories in suspense until the end. To Build a Fire is settled in Yukon‚ the smallest and westernmost of Canada´s three
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1) Jack London was born John Griffith Chaney and later he took his step-father’s last name. 2) Jack London’s extensive work experiences included: being a laborer‚ factory worker‚ an oyster pirate‚ sailor‚ railroad hobo‚ journalist and gold prospector in the Klondike. 3) Jack London’s most famous works are The Call of the Wild‚ White Fang‚ and Sea Wolf. 4) At age 10 Jack London sold newspapers on the street to help with his family’s income. 5) London would write new words he learned on pieces
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Intellectual Reasoning vs. Instinct It has been said from Plato onward that man’s reasoning is his highest faculty and makes him superior to animals. In the short story "To Build a Fire‚" by Jack London‚ man’s intellectual reasoning ability is regarded as “second class” to that of the survival mechanism that is embedded within humans and animals alike. This survival mechanism is sometimes referred to as instinct. If solely depended on‚ man’s intellectual reasoning may be clouded‚ imprudent and
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Jack London is one of the greatest American authors of all time‚ and more specifically one of the greatest Regionalism literature. He short story “To Build a Fire” displays many of the characteristics of this subgenre of Realism. There is a strong emphasis on the harshness of nature to man and how man must fight to survive and the main character is of a lower class. Also there is a simple language that is realistic to the characters and setting. These characteristics combine to create one of the
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Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” is a story about knowing your surroundings‚ and listening to your instincts‚ just as the dog in this story did. London’s human character‚ who is nameless in the story‚ is more like a foil; with the main character being the harsh landscape of the Yukon‚ where the story takes place amid -75 below temperatures. The man shows how arrogant and inexperienced he is when he travels to the Yukon Territory without proper clothing‚ the use of a sled‚ or companions. He has no
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In “War” by Jack London‚ the setting taking place in a war and the steamy temperature is significant to the text because it develops the tone in the story which is concerned. First‚ the setting taking place in a war develops the tone because it is very hot where the war is taking place‚ the heat is almost unbearable. The narrator is constantly battling the heat in the story. Jack London writes‚ “The ban of his cavalryman’s hat was fresh stained with sweat. The roan horse under him was likewise wet
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those three works‚ “To Build a Fire” by Jack London‚ “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop‚ and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin is the loss of something significant. Each story or poem has a different way of ending peacefully and handling the loss. The narrator in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London‚ experiences the loss of fire. The wise man told the narrator that he should not go out in the Yukon by himself. There were many failed attempts by the narrator to build a fire to keep him‚ and his dog
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John Griffith “Jack” London was born on January 12‚ 1876 in San Francisco‚ CA. Although London originally had the surname Griffith‚ when his mother married John London later in 1876‚ the couple had the infant’s name changed to London. London worked many different‚ unique jobs in his youth. His occupations ranged from pirating for oysters on San Francisco Bay to running for mayor of San Francisco on the socialist ticket. London became an author to escape the drudgery of a potential life as factory
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