To Build A Fire By Jack London Essay

We all have moments in time where we have to make important decisions, whether or not to get that new phone you’ve been looking at for the past hour, but almost never do we never have to make a life or death decision. It all depends on which we would rather use; instinct or intellect. In “To Build a Fire” by Jack london the lesson that he teaches about instinct vs. intellect is that man should learn whether or not to use instinct or intellect in certain, sometimes life threatening situations. London develops the theme through the use of characterization. The first example of instinct versus intellect is in the scene where the man and the dog were crossing the river. Another example happens when he is finished having a smoke and decides to
Both the dog and the man sense that the creek would be dangerous to cross. The man decides that it would be best if the dog crosses first. London, using characterization, shows that the dog has some sense and tries to resist crossing. The man forces him into walking the creek. The dog starts to walk along the creek and it immediately snaps. The dog's instinct kick in and “made quick efforts to lick the ice off its legs, then dropped down in the snow and began to bite out the ice that had formed between the toes”. (13) London uses characterization to further show that the dog is better off using it’s instinct instead of using the human's intellect.
The second example of instinct versus intellect that is shown through characterization was during the scene where the man had built a successful fire. He had just finished having a smoke on his pipe, and was ready to leave, but the dog was very hesitant. London, once again through characterization, shows that the dog has better instinct than the human’s intellect. The dog does eventually follow the man, “But the dog knew; all its ancestry knew, and it had inherited the knowledge. And it knew that it was not good to walk abroad in such fearful cold”.