Analysis essay to "To Build a Fire"
You are your worst enemy
In this story Jack London described the extreme cold and beauty of Alaska. It tells us how this unusual man handles his first winter since he moved in to the Yukon, apparently the cold was not an inconvenience for him. The six feet of ice and snow did not frighten him. He continued his trip and left the place believing that he will be completely fine even if people around him knew that this times were not in any way safe to be traveling. And even less to travel alone. Clearly the man thought he had enough experience to go in to this endeavor by himself in such cold, even if he was warned and told not to. His loyal dog was all he had and the last living thing he will ever see. “To Build a Fire” is a very descriptive and realistic story, where the protagonist fails to survive in such cold due to his own arrogance and overconfidence, proving that this weaknesses will only guide him to his own death.
As we know Alaska is a land of coldness and solitude, and the sun makes itself be missed. “There was not sun or hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky” (London 5). But that doesn’t matter to a man that is used to live without it. He knew that he will not see a ray of sun for days or even weeks, evidently the man had experience through his lifetime and learned how to survive in this conditions, but how can he know if he has never been in the Yukon? He sure shows a lot of confidence, and he will put his abilities to the test.
The man started walking through the trail thinking of the next stop, the camp with the boys. Along the way he finds out that is not only fifty below zero, obviously it was colder than that, as cold as spiting on the ground and hear it crack. He travels light and walks fast with a nice half frozen meal. But he did not travel alone his native husky friend kept him company along the way, but not by choice. “The animal was
In this story Jack London described the extreme cold and beauty of Alaska. It tells us how this unusual man handles his first winter since he moved in to the Yukon, apparently the cold was not an inconvenience for him. The six feet of ice and snow did not frighten him. He continued his trip and left the place believing that he will be completely fine even if people around him knew that this times were not in any way safe to be traveling. And even less to travel alone. Clearly the man thought he had enough experience to go in to this endeavor by himself in such cold, even if he was warned and told not to. His loyal dog was all he had and the last living thing he will ever see. “To Build a Fire” is a very descriptive and realistic story, where the protagonist fails to survive in such cold due to his own arrogance and overconfidence, proving that this weaknesses will only guide him to his own death.
As we know Alaska is a land of coldness and solitude, and the sun makes itself be missed. “There was not sun or hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky” (London 5). But that doesn’t matter to a man that is used to live without it. He knew that he will not see a ray of sun for days or even weeks, evidently the man had experience through his lifetime and learned how to survive in this conditions, but how can he know if he has never been in the Yukon? He sure shows a lot of confidence, and he will put his abilities to the test.
The man started walking through the trail thinking of the next stop, the camp with the boys. Along the way he finds out that is not only fifty below zero, obviously it was colder than that, as cold as spiting on the ground and hear it crack. He travels light and walks fast with a nice half frozen meal. But he did not travel alone his native husky friend kept him company along the way, but not by choice. “The animal was
Cited: London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. New York: Longman, 2013. 127-137. Print.