Jack London — "To Build a Fire"

"To Build a Fire" is the story of a man who was out in the wilderness trying to reach his friends (London). He was following a trail that went through the woods and it was negative fifty degrees outside and rapidly dropping (London). He had a dog with him that was following him to his friends' house (London). He wanted very much to get there, although an old man in a shop that he had passed through warned him not to travel (London). The old man said that it was too cold and too dangerous to travel outside without a hiking partner (London). The man did not heed the old man's warning and went out hiking anyway (London). He managed to avoid most of the holes that were filled with water, but eventually his foot went through one and started to freeze (London). He had matches with him, so he built a fire and lit it to keep him warm (London). However, the tree that he was pulling branches from dropped all of its snow on him and his fire (London). He had to keep moving and try to build another fire (London). He kept trying and kept trying, but his fingers were going numb because he had to take his mittens off to make the fire (London). Soon, all of his extremities were numb, and the man started to panic (London). He started running down the path as fast as he could, which on numb, frostbitten feet was very hard (London). He kept stumbling and falling, and eventually he gave up trying (London). He lay down and waited for the cold to take him, and he quickly fell asleep and passed away (London). The dog lay for a while, waiting for its master to get up, but when he realized his master was dead, he went back in the direction of their camp so he could find a new owner (London). This work is Realist, because it is in the moment and realistic. It is kind of ridiculous that it is so cold, but it is realistic that someone would go out hiking alone and freeze to death (London). It is not Naturalistic, because there is no studying of the man or his feelings, just descriptions of them (London). It is also not Regionalistic, because while there is mention of the landscape, there is no promotion behind it (London). This work does not really reflect society, because it is about one man and his opinions and methods (London). There is nothing about religion or government, and there is a little about nature, in how cold it was and how the snow hindered his progress (London). There is also some about how the rivers and streams, while frozen over, still could be broken through to make things freeze (London). There was not much about human nature, but there is some in the fact that people are stubborn and do not always want to listen to others that may be more knowledgeable (London). There is also nothing about the American Dream, because this man is not planning anything for the long term, he is more worried about reaching his friends (London). There is no figurative language and there is also nothing about a Hero, because there is no American Dream (London). London wrote this very well, and it is almost heartbreaking when the man dies.

London, Jack, Douglas Fisher, Beverly A. Chin, and Jacqueline J. Royster. ""To Build a Fire"" American Literature. Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2009. 601-14. Print.