Overconfidence and Arrogance in To Build a Fire by Jack London Overconfidence and arrogance led to the death of the man in Jack London's "To Build a Fire." This overconfidence in his own abilities led to him making poor decisions and scorning the advice of those who know what they are talking about. Instead, he laughs at the old man after he tells him "a man should travel with a partner" (1769) and goes out into the frigid weather anyway. He knew that it was 75 degrees below zero and that his body was numb but he didn't care because he thought he could handle it. Even when he was about to die he thought, "freezing to death is not as bad as people thought it was"(1772) and "when he got back to the states he could tell the folks what real cold was."(1772) Obviously the man did not take the situation seriously. Instead of dying with dignity he thought about himself "running around like a chicken with its head cut off." (1772) He time and again snubs the warnings that he is receiving from nature. He encountered many warnings that it was too cold to be outside. First...
Much like the book Brave New World, a form of brainwash is introduced and used in the film “The Island” as well. Clones receive memory implants and are exposed to video clips of real life experiences throughout the twelve months they are growing. These videos vary between twelve different generic life memories. After the twelve months are over, the clones come to believe that they are real human survivors who had been saved from a worldwide contamination. This process helps to convince them that they are real human beings, without having any thoughts that they could be clones. All i...
They say to “always be prepared for unexpected situations,” this represents the man in the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. The man is unprepared because he does not
Christopher McCandless had always admired the works of Jack London. He even went as far as naming Jack London “king”. McCandless relished the naturalisitc elements of London’s writings, elements that he chose to ignore in his own life. Jack London often depicted men as being controlled by their environment and being unable to withstand any heavy circumstances. He depicted themes about the frailty of man and man’s inability to overcome nature. But McCandless clearly did not take away any of the valuable lessons from these stories. He hailed London as “king” but never truly learned from London’s stories, dying in a tragically ironic way when he came to meet the same fate as the protagonist in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. Christopher McCandless
In the course of human history, man has managed to do some really dumb things. Whether it’s because we lack sufficient knowledge, make a mistake, or are just too stubborn to use sound judgement, dumb decisions are made every day by everyone. However, none have a greater level of stupidity than the choices made by the man in Jack London’s To Build a Fire. This is a story of pride, ignorance, and stupidity, which ultimately leads to the downfall of its main character. This short story is a caution against over confidence and unpreparedness, showing the harsh effects of both. Ultimately, it is an issue of man’s pride versus the harsh conditions of nature. It shows that one cannot simply overlook nature, because doing so can lead to the destruction
Jack London has written a classic short story in the 1908 version of "To Build a Fire." This is the classic story of man fighting nature. In most genres (e.g. movies, novels, short stories) the main character comes out on top, however unlikely that is. Jack London takes literary naturalism and shows the reader how unmerciful nature is. Much like Stephen Crane in "The Open Boat," in which the one of the characters dies, London doesn't buy into that "has to have a good ending" contrivance. Through analysis of two London's letters (to R.W. Gilder and Cloudesly Johns) these two versions of "To Build a Fire" come alive with new meaning. Although there are many differences on the surface, both stories use his philosophy as expressed to Johns and both teach a moral lesson, one which will not soon be forgotten: "Never travel alone."
"Crash" is a movie that exposes different kinds of social and multicultural differences, giving us a quick example of how these conducts affect our society. Two of the behaviors observed, are Prejudice and Stereotyping. Identified as the causes of where all the events eradicate.
When Jack London wrote "To Build a Fire" he embraced the idea of naturalism because it mirrored the events of daily life. Naturalism showed how humans had to be wary at every corner because at anytime death could be there, waiting for them to make a mistake and forfeit their lives. He used naturalism, the most realistic literary movement, to show how violent and uncaring nature really is and how no matter what you do nature will always be there. London also presented the basic idea of Darwinism and the survival of the fittest, basically if you are dumb you will die. Collectively, London used naturalism to show how in life, humans can depend on nothing but themselves to survive. "To Build a Fire" is a short story that embodies the idea of naturalism and how, if one is not careful, nature will gain the upper hand and they will perish.
Stubbornness is a horrible character flaw of the man in the story. He discards all warnings of the weather that he received from those with experience. Full of himself and ambition the man embarks on his final trail. He sights no big problem regarding the weather and is sure of the fact that he will meet with his fellows in the camp in planned time. Soon however the cold hit harder and harder. The absence of heat grew as the man’s strength and confidence shrunk. Here the words of his advisors began to make way into the front of his mind, the theme as well ever-present. The theme that suggested the potential of nature compared to that of man’s. The theme which so clearly exhibited how blind stubbornness would not lead to stoicism and victory but rather painful demise. Witnessed in this story was just that theme. The miserable man was killed not by the dreadful cold but by his own free will and lack of knowledge. Had he taken just a fragment of the native’s advice or read the warning on the wall inside the heat-infiltrated house perhaps he would breathe another breath, step another step, or live to tell of his encounter.
During World War II, there were special camps for the Jewish where “prisoners were regularly beaten and starved, and several were murdered” (Tucker). The Nazis considered the Jewish inferior so they treated them poorly. This is similar to the treatment the plague victims receive from the military government in Legend. Those diagnosed with the plague are required to stay in their homes along with their family members, and when soldiers see a plague victim walking down the street, they shoot her simply because of the infection (Lu 5). Plague victims in the Republic parallel the treatment the Jews in Germany, genetically inferior. Both of these groups of people are treated poorly, killed without reason and contained without permission to leave. Lu’s use of the “genetically inferior” point out the mass deaths and dehumanization of targeted groups within society and demonstrates how it affects the people as well as their
In Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire" the reader watches a man's mental condition go from high to devastatingly low. At the first of the story, he is very self confident in his own abilities. This is evident by the way he keeps saying the he will be in camp by six.
To Build a Fire - Jack London The short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a comprehensive story that tackles the struggles of a newcomer trying to survive a day in the Yukon with very harsh and cold weather. The man travels with a big native husky and tries many times to build a fire but fails due to his inadequate personality. The man repeatedly lets his ignorance and arrogance dictate his decisions, which soon leads to his demise. The theme of the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is that being ignorant, arrogant and foolish can lead to bad decisions.
Literature focuses on many aspects to form a coherent and captivating story, mainly those aspects retaining to characters and conflict. Within any story, a conflict arises for a character to overcome which drives the whole story. Conflict, the struggle against many forces of multiple varieties, creates the obstacle or issue a character must face to advance past the problem. In "To Build a Fire" by Jack London, conflict plays a major role in the story. The conflicts of man fighting against nature and man against himself present the struggles the unidentified man from "To Build a Fire" faces and attempts to overcome. These conflicts of man and nature influence the whole story and the fate of the character.
In “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the setting plays a significant role throughout the entire story. The chosen setting by London creates a specific and idealistic mood for his depressing story. It forces, as well as prepares, it’s audience to what the story holds. The amount of constant detail the story holds allows the reader to anticipate the ending that is inevitable to happen.
Providing the separation between survival and death. setting was the most important factor in "Building a Fire" by Jack London. Works Cited and Consulted Hendricks, King. Jack London: Master Craftsman of the Short Story. Logan: Utah State U P. 1966.
Karen Rhodes analyzed to build a fire in a cultural context. He believed "London's works were written so that he could survive in a world he increasingly came to see as "red in tooth and claw""(1). It is obviously the story of a man fighting the stresses of Nature. According to Rhodes, to build a fire was drawn from the year London spent in Canada's Yukon Territory. London depicted arctic and very cold conditions throughout the story. Rhodes believed to build a fire represented London's Naturalistic Flavor. "It pits one man alone against the overwhelming forces of nature"(Karen Rhodes, 1). He also believed to build a fire can either be interpreted as the Pioneer American experience or can be read as an allegory for the journey of human existence (Karen Rhodes, 1). According to Rhodes, there are two versions of to build a fire; the first one was written in 1902 while the second one was written in 1908. We are studying the 1908 version." It has come to be known as everyman trekking through the Naturalistic Universe"(Karen Rhodes, 1). To build a fire is indeed the story of a man trekking through the universe alone except for his dog. The man's death at the end was the culmination of the story. " His death came through no lapse of observation, no lack of diligence, no real folly but the nature of himself and his environment" (Karen Rhodes, 2). I think his is a fine criticism of London's to build a fire. London had made use of his life experiences in writing the story.