To Build A Fire By Jack London Essay

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Imagine yourself in the midst of a blizzard: millions and millions of snowflakes are flying around you, penetrating your delicate face like needles against thin sheets of ice. You take one step after another, trudging your feet through the mile high snow, accompanied only by a native husky. This is the position that the man, the main character, faces in Jack London’s short story “To Build A Fire”. Throughout the story, readers can observe many unique stylistic elements that London uses to develop the overall message: nature will overpower humans. Within the story, London incorporates a plethora of details into each sentence which is able to create a simple story line and create a arrogant tone that ultimately shows the importance of the message of this work. As a reader, one of the first things that is noticed in this short story is the amount of description and details …show more content…

In the beginning of the story, the man recalls that someone told him that he should not travel alone in a place like the Yukon, where the story takes place, for the power of nature is unpredictable. However, the man is presumptuous and ignores this advice. As the story progresses, the man makes mistake after mistake as he travels further into the Yukon. One instance is when “he had forgotten to build a fire and thaw out. He chuckled at his foolishness, and as he chuckled he noted the numbness creeping into the exposed fingers” (London 613). He may be laughing at how foolish he was to make a fire, however, he knows that the blizzard is beginning to gradually overtake him. Yet, he does not admit that he is losing in the battle against nature and continues on his journey, continuing to make mistakes and face dire consequences until he is defeat. In the end, Mother Nature got the best of him and the message that nature will conquer all is yet again

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