Character Analysis: To Build A Fire

Ice collects. Death is near. In the story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the man in the story is in quite a predicament. He is freezing to death travelling along the Yukon while trying to get to the boys at the camp. While he tries his best to make it to camp, the cold gets the best of him, and he dies from the cold. Since he does not survive the trip, a question arises. What led him to that fate? There are several mistakes that led to his demise. The three worst mistakes that led to the man’s death were that he fell into an ice covered spring trap, he failed to make a fire through several attempts, and he travelled alone even though he had no experience. Firstly, when travelling along the river to explore it, he did know about the ice traps that were around the river. However, he still did not avoid them without harm. While travelling along the river, the man slipped into an ice trap. The water instantly turned to ice on his leg, and the already freezing legs were now soaked in the well below sub-zero temperatures. He was not in too bad of shape until he fell into the trap, and now making a fire was imperative, not just a leisurely task when he
Not only did the old-timer, who knew what to do, tell him to have a partner, but this was the man’s first winter. He had no experience travelling in the winter at all. Let alone by himself. To add to that, it was below -50 degrees fahrenheit! If he would have just had a partner to travel along with, then everything would have been different. Even if he would’ve fallen into the trap, his partner could have built a fire quickly and efficiently. He could have built another two or three fires if the first one failed, or even if the second one failed. The man even said “You were right, old hoss, you were right” (London 91). The entire story would have been different if this one fatal mistake had been