A single word inserted or removed can change the feeling of a story in an instant; creating tingles that trickle along the length of your spine or even a compulsive movement to put down the piece and never pick it up again. In many cases an author will write and rewrite their tales until they are perfect. Jack London was very much one of these authors, sending his first version of “To Build a Fire” to a magazine before rewriting it into the masterpiece of which many are more familiar with today. However, only one of the versions strongly exemplifies the hard truth and fight against uncontrollable and unpredictable nature which is realism and naturalism. In many ways are London’s two distinct pieces of work similar, but also in many ways are they different. Of all edits and changes with which London reconstructed his masterpiece the most prominent involved the main character, the brutal descriptions of the cold, and plot variations.
In “To Build a Fire” there are numerous differences between the main character of the 1902 and 1908 versions. When London first set out to publish his work in 1902 for a magazine, he called the main character by name, Tom Vincent, as well as describing him as a “strapping young fellow, big-boned and big muscled, with faith in himself and in the strength of his head and hands” (116). However, the main character in the 1908 version was much more inconspicuous than its primary draft counterpart, as the main character is now stripped of his name going only by the man, with no other indicators as for his physical appearance. His personality, on the other hand, seems to be somewhat of a constant with only a slight difference between the two adaptations. In the initial work London inserted so...
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...f cold one hundred and seven degrees below freezing point” (487). The dog then goes on to curl up in the snow and not warn the man of the danger leading to his eventual demise. Then, in the 1902 version the lone protagonist survives the cold, but the man in the better known version has a companion and dies, losing and accepting his loss in his battle against nature.
In these two works, Jack London demonstrates his capabilities to turn one short story into a masterpiece by tweaking a key few things. Even the slightest of changes he made to the plot, setting descriptions, and the main character can make everything better and even more fascinating, and makes us want to pick it up again and again.
Works Cited
London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.” Adventures in American Literature. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1989: 483-493
London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.” (1902) Handout.
Studies in American Fiction 17 (1989): 33-50.
...n American Literature. By Henry Louis. Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 387-452. Print.
“To build a fire”, quite similar to the previous “A mystery of heroism” boosts the naturalism theme of fate. In “To build a fire” a single man and dog take on the many mile long journey to reach a camp. From right out the gates you know that a long lonely walk would never be the simplest task. When London reveals, it was “fifty decrease below zero” (London 498) you then realize that anybody would str...
Perkins, Geroge, and Barbara Perkins. The American Tradition in Literature. 12th ed. Vol. 2. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print
The setting is London in 1854, which is very different to anything we know today. Johnson’s description of this time and place makes it seem like a whole other world from the here and now....
Stephen Crane’s short story, “The Open Boat” speaks directly to Jack London’s own story, “To Build A Fire” in their applications of naturalism and views on humanity. Both writers are pessimistic in their views of humanity and are acutely aware of the natural world. The representations of their characters show humans who believe that they are strong and can ably survive, but these characters many times overestimate themselves which can lead to an understanding of their own mortality as they face down death.
Perkins George, Barbara. The American Tradition in Literature, 12th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print
Jack London brings man versus nature discussion into his story. The environment, however doesn't play against him for say, but does warn him from the very beginning. The audience can conclude that just like “the man” everyone is alone in the world - fighting for ourselves and the things we wish to acquire. The character created by London is isolated from the universe and fooli...
The. Rpt. Jack London: Essays in Criticism. Ed. Ray Wilson.
People always tell you to listen to your gut. However, all goes wrong for the poor character in Jack London’s (1876-1916) To Build a Fire when he wants to trust his gut. In the story, a mountain man explains to him how dangerous it is to venture out alone in incredibly freezing circumstances. Being the confident man that he is, he did not listen to the advice. It soon turns into a story of a man’s lonely road to try to survive. He finds a silent companion that cannot seem to help him. He then falls into a soft spot and gets wet to the knees. He knew he was in danger and he had to get a fire together fast. However, more bad luck came his way when we were building a fire and snow fell on it. He then had to hurry to build a new one, however it was to no avail. His fingers were to cold to rebuild a fire, so there was nothing that he could do. There are three reasons why the theme that nature is more powerful that sometimes assumed works so well in Jack London’s To Build a Fire.
113- The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. of the book. Vol.
Belasco, Susan, and Linck Johnson, eds. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 1, 2nd Ed., Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 1190-1203. Print.
In the short story “To Build a Fire” written by Jack London, the story utilizes literary devices in order to establish the tone of the story. From the very beginning, the narrator who is a non-participant in the story slips several devices such as the setting and atmosphere, writing style, as well as figurative language. These various devices were used in order to help the reader understand the mood which in turn would also help the reader understand the tone of the story. The story of a lone man walking in such harsh conditions who is attempting to survive, will enhance the mood and tone of the story to allow the reader to fully understand what happened.
The story “To Build A Fire” by Jack London, is about a man that travels through the wilderness of Yukon. His mission was to get back to Henderson Creek, without being frozen to death. As the day passes the colder it gets, causing the unknown character to make life making decisions. Looking at “To Build A Fire” through the formalist critics, London uses components, to create the imagery art. In “ To Build A Fire”, there are many components that make up the story, theme and setting are used to show foolishness a person may be, being a little wiser, and a life learning experience, through the journey to his friends.