It was his first, a winter so cold that he would joke about dying rather than experiencing it, but this season's winter would change how Takash felt about that. He was a hard working laborer, just like all the other men in the village, working at the field sunrise to sunset. He had a wife, two children; his hut was one of the first to be hit by the sun's ray in the morning, which he liked. But none of that mattered much once the winter rolled around. Food was scarce, even the rich and schoalrs were barely holding on. One particularly freezing night, the family needed a larger fire than ever before. The man set out to grab wood from their storage. As the man brought more and made a second trip, he didn’t notice the spark landing on his wife’s blanket. The fire caught on quickly to the cotton blanket, it ate up the cloth quickly and engulfed the woman next. She awoke and noticed the fire around her; she panicked and ran about the hut. She screamed and screamed but nothing could stop it, as the fire took her life she dropped to the ground next to the wooden walls. Soon the fire had t...
The fire gets Macey interested in a fire that happened years ago, where a man was thought to have been burned alive in it. For a h...
Jack London’s To Build a Fire follows an unnamed protagonist, who’s only referred to as “the man”, as he travels the Yukon Trail during a severe snow storm. Along with his husky wolf-dog, he determined to meet friends at an old junction by six o’clock. The man, who was warned not travel in the Klondike alone, presses forward through the terrain’s harsh weather. He later falls through the snow in what looked to be a secure spot. With his feet and fingers soaked, he starts a fire and begins drying himself. The man constructs the fire under a spruce tree in order to take its twigs and drop them directly onto the fire. Each time he pulled a twig a branch overturned its load of snow, eventually blotting out the fire. He grabs all his matches and lights them simultaneously to set fire to a piece of bark; it soon goes out. The man decides to kill the dog and use its warm body to restore his circulation, but is unable to kill the animal and lets the dog go. The man attempts to run from the thought of freezing to death but he quickly falls down. He decides he should meet death in a more dignified manner; the man falls off into a calm sleep.
Debut novel by hip-hop rap artist Sister Souljah, whose No Disrespect (1994), which mixes sexual history with political
The short story "To build a Fire" by Jack London, tells about the relationship between man and nature. The story takes place in the Yukon during one of the long night. The main character who is unnamed travels with a dog along a small trail to a mining camp. The man leaves against the advice of a local and after a short time realizes that he should have waited. The temperature is extremely cold because the mans spit freezes before it hits the ground. The main obstacle of his journey is the many covered springs that mean death to whoever falls into them. The man sends his dog in front of him to make sure that the trail is safe. Eventually the dog falls into one of the springs and gets his paws wet. Immediate, acting solely of instinct, the dog begins to chew the ice off of his feet. Further down the trail a similar incident happens, but this time the man falls into the spring. In order to keep his feet from freezing he has to build a fire. The first attempt to build a fire is flawed by the location the man chose under a tree. After the man is unable to light a second fire because of the loss of dexterity in his fingers, he becomes panicked and blindly runs, until totally exhausted, and dies. Throughout the story the mood gives the impression of extreme cold, and the tone is ironic. Through the actions of the main character, Jack London shows that man must be humble to nature.
Fitzgerald Essay - Prompt 5 Money may be able to buy ones happiness, but not necessarily satisfaction in life. Fitzgerald's characters in “Winter Dreams” and Great Gatsby had money, but not satisfaction throughout their lives. One can have satisfying materials, do satisfying things, and obtain satisfying qualities. Characters in “Winter Dreams” and "The X-Men" Three of the most satisfying materials that a person could own are a home, money, and a car. At least one of these items is essential for a person, no matter where they live.
By day the Man and his son are walking south, to the sea, because of the harsh winters that they have to endure in order to make it. By night the two males are trying to find shelter and eat what they scavenged throughout their walks and Man will listen out for any danger that may come. Because it is winter and during that time there is snow and rain nights become extremely difficult as they are already short on some supplies. Making fires and keeping them lit is one of the hardest things the Man tries to maintain, but with heavy winds, rain and the snow, they risk the chance of hypothermia, especially with very little energy to keep up with them.
"Overview: “To Build a Fire”." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 7. Detroit:Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Nov.2013
The man's feet sank into the water. Although the water was not deep, his legs all the way up to his knees were soaked. The man had become annoyed because the accident has now caused him to delay his arrival at the camp. He would have to build a fire to dry himself and his clothes. He walked over to some small trees, that were covered in snow. In their branches were pieces of dry grass and wood. He put several large pieces of wood on the snow, under one of the trees. On top of the wood, he put some grass and dry branches. He then took out his matches, and lighted the fire. To keep the fire growing he added more and more wood. He then rested for a while and continued to on his way to the mining camp. After a while he stopped to start his second fire, which did not really turn out so great because he leaned up against a tree to cut the string from his boots. He did not notice that his fire was under a branch covered in snow, so leaning against it caused the tree to shake and eventually the snow fell and put the fire
One day, when I was oppressed by cold, I found a fire which had been left by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth I experienced from it¡K. I examined the materials of the fire, and to my joy found it to be composed of wood. I quickly collected some branches; but they were wet, and would not burn¡K. The wet wood which I had placed near the heat dried, and it self became inflamed. I discovered the cause, and busied my in collecting a great quantity of wood, that I might dry it, and have a plentiful supply of fire.
When reading a book, is really hard to get the attention of the reader. Who is interested with hearing once upon a time? For me, I would eater the novel start off with something relatable then ease me into the plot. Life doesn’t always start off as a fairytale so I prefer that my novels don’t either. So while reading this novel, I was evaluating not only the author but the content and if it would live up to the hype.
Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” is about the struggles of a man in the harsh winter conditions of the Yukon. The man was purposely not given a name to demonstrate the severe environment that is more important than his individuality. In the tale he had been in a constant search for “the boys” who could potentially provide shelter, food, and warmth. However, the man totally disregards the advice from the wise old-timer, which puts him in real danger. Throughout his journey a dog that instinctively understands the severity of the extreme temperature accompanies him.
As I walked into the family room, I could feel the gentle heat of the crackling fire begin to sooth my frostbitten cheeks. I plopped myself down on the sofa. The soft cushions felt like heaven to my muscles, sore from building snowmen, riding sleds, and throwing snowballs from behind the impenetrable fort.
The short story "To Build a Fire," written by Jack London, is a tragic tale of an overconfident, inexperienced man traveling through the brutal, sub-freezing conditions of the Yukon with only the companionship of a dog. The man, un-named in this story, arrogantly decides to break from the main trail to take a less traveled route against the advice of the seasoned old-timer of Sulfur Creek, who warns of traveling alone in such severe conditions. The man is described as being without imagination and not aware of the significance of the things around him, how frail his life is. As his journey prolongs, his confidence builds as he continually cheats nature, but the temperature extends lower and lower below freezing. He inevitably is caught by the fierce cold when he breaks through some ice and is wetted, in dire need of warmth and to dry his moccasins, the man must build a fire. Successful in his attempt, the man’s ego grows but the unforgiving antagonist of the story steps in and snuffs out the flames, as melted snow falls from the branches above. The man’s overconfidence starts to dwindle as his hands become unresponsive due to the extreme cold, and the cruel reality of death sets in as he fails to ignite another flame. As his limbs become rigid, he wrestles with the idea of killing the dog to thaw his unmoving hands, but once within his grasp, his frigid hands prevent him from drawing his knife. In a last ditch effort to not freeze to death the man begins to run in a panic, fighting the cold for his life. Then it happens, the realization, in an epiphanic moment the man comes to grip with the fact that his end is near and rather than flailing about like a fool, he decides he wo...
When the narrator introduced the main character of the story, the man, he made it clear that the man was in a perilous situation involving the elements. The man was faced with weather that was 75 degrees below zero and he was not physically or mentally prepared for survival. London wrote that the cold "did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, and upon man's frailty in general, able only to live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold."(p.1745) At first when the man started his journey to the camp, he felt certain that he could make it back to camp before dinner. As the trip progressed, the man made mistake after mistake that sealed his fate. The man's first mistake was to step into a pool of water and soak his legs to the knees. This blunder forced the man to build a fire to dry his wet socks and shoes so his feet would not freeze and become frostbitten. When the man began to build a fire he failed to notice that he was doing so under a large, snow laden spruce tree where he was getting his firewood. When the man had a small fire that was beginning to smolder the disturbance to the tree caused the snow to tumble to the ground and extinguish the fire. "It was his own fault or, rather, his mistake. He should not have built the fire under the spruce tree. He should have built it in the open."(1750).
“The Little Match Girl” is a sad story that, although short has great detail beyond that of other short stories. In this story a little girl tries to sell matches on the streets in order for her family to have money during the harsh winter. She fails to sell even a single match and fears going home because her father would beat her. She decides to strike a match on the side of a building she is leaning aginst to try and bring some warmth into her body. As quickly as she lights it the match burns out, so she decides to strike all the matches at once. In doing so she hallucinates and sees her late grandmother who invites her to heaven. The next morning, the girl is found dead holding a bundle of struck matches and everyone believing she had tried to warm herself. This short story has depth and sadness just as any other story would have.