The Importance of Setting in Jack London's To Build A Fire
In "To Build a Fire" by Jack London, the setting plays a
significant role throughout the entire short story. Jack London uses
certain techniques to establish the atmosphere of the story. By
introducing his readers to the setting, prepares them for a tone that is
depressed and frightening. Isolated by an environment of frigid
weather and doom, the author shows us how the main character of the story
is completely unaware of his surroundings. The only world the man is truly
accustomed to, is his own. Never being exposed to such a harsh climate,
draws us to the conclusion that the environment is the determining factor
of his survival, as well as his dog's too. Anything that the man and his
dog comes into contact with, creates an anticipation for disaster in the
story.
London places a strong emphasis on the setting in the introduction
to the story. "Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey..."
He repeats these phrases to redefine to his readers the impact the setting
has on the lives of the characters. The gloominess of the setting instills
feelings in the man and the dog, of a constant battle with this world of
depression they are in. Being given no sense of imagination, the man is
only gifted with his practical knowledge. He therefore is shown to lack
the experience and thought to adapt to the conditions encompassing him.
Typically, man never wants to deal with the reality, especially
when it is unpleasant. "But all this-the mysterious, far-reaching hairline
trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendou...
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...he man didn't listen to the advice of experienced
people, he was ignorant and never expected to be defeated by the climate.
If the man had prepared himself for the worst, his death would not have
been inevitable. Providing the separation between survival an death, the
setting was the most important factor in "To Build 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. Rpt. In Jack London: Essays in Criticism. Ed. Ray Wilson Ownbey. Santa Barbara:
Peregrine, 1978. 13-30.
London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama.
6th ed. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. 118-29.
Perry, John. Jack London: An American Myth. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1981.
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.
What Is a Success? Success is not earning a fat juicy check at the end of each month, or being part of a large social group filled with fraudulent people that appear as familiar faces. But it is a person discovering him or herself after they have been lost and establishing a sense of purpose that fills them with a warm, glowing sense of accomplishment. Success does not have one transparent definition, it has various meanings depending on what success means to the individual trying to achieve it. Success is surviving the loss.
Literature. Ed. Richard Sime and Bill Wahlgreen. Dallas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2000. Page 739. Print.
The novel Hard Times by Charles Dickens offers a glimpse into the life and times during the industrial revolution in England during the nineteenth century. Dickens offers a wide range of characters from the upper class factory owner to the lowest class factory workers. He creates characters in this range of social classes and crafts this story that intertwines each person and their transformations throughout the novel. Almost every character in this story is complex and has characteristics that run deeper than their place in society, and this is what makes the novel so very important and intense. While there are many complexities linked to these characters, some do not appear to be as complex but in actuality they are. A strong example would be Josiah Bounderby, the wealthiest character in the novel.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
The legalization of marijuana has been a highly debated topic for many of years. Since the first president to the most recent, our nation’s leaders have consumed the plant known as weed. With such influential figures openly using this drug why is it so frowned upon? Marijuana is considered a gateway drug, a menace to society, and mentally harmful to its consumers. For some people weed brings a sense of anxiety, dizziness, or unsettling feeling. Like alcohol, tobacco or any other drug, those chemicals may not respond well with their body. For other people marijuana brings joy, a sense of relief, and takes the edge off of every day stress. For those who are associated with cannabis, purposes usually range from a relaxant, or cash crop, to more permissible uses such as medicine, and ingredient to make so many other materials. We now need to look at what would change if marijuana were legal. Benefits to the economy and agriculture, health issues, and crime rates are three areas worth looking at. Deliberating on the pros and cons of this plant we can get a better understanding for marijuana. From there it will be easier to make a clear consensus on what is best for the nation.
11th ed. By Kelly J. Mays. New York: W W Norton &, 2013. 551-57. Print.
Fiero, John W., and Marjorie J. Podolsky. "Ernest J. Gaines." Magill's Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition. N.p.: Salem, n.d. 1-12. EBSCOhost. Web. 9 May 2014.
Charles Dickens wrote Hard Times as an attempt to show the injustices of life for many different people and to explain that in order to be happy, people need one another. Through the epiphanies of many characters in this novel, Dickens shows their realization of this fact and how they plan to pursue their goals from there on. These characters are used as mouthpieces to spread the theme to the reader. Louisa Gradgrind, Stephen Blackpool, and Tom Gradgrind are such characters. All three follow their respective lives for the first book of the novel. As the story progresses, the reader sees these characters become unhappy and distant with their previous views as life begins to turn on them. For each, a last fleeting moment presents itself as they plan to change their ways and move forward to their best suited destination. Stephen, Louisa and Tom differ in their prior lives, their paths to change, and final plan of action, but they change for the better. These changes are used by Dickens to voice what he wishes in this novel. Through the use of many literary elements Dickens does this. Dickens uses imagery and foreshadowing to reflect the change in Louisa’s, Tom’s and Stephen’s view on life.
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.
Naturalism portrays humans' control over their actions and fate as limited and determined by the natural world, including their very humanity. The freedom described by Jean-Paul Sartre results in all individuals having the ability to make present choices independently. Despite the fatalism illustrated in naturalism, the characters in London's 'To Build a Fire' and Crane's 'The Open Boat' are ultimately responsible for their choices and consequences of their choices.
In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”, an unknown man is traveling alone in the extremely dangerous weather of seventy-five degrees below zero along Yukon Trail. Despite being warned about the dangers; he was bent on reaching his destination at the boy’s camp on Henderson Creek. Nevertheless, he tried many things to help keep his body warm but everything he tried failed. Close to death, he finally realized that it was impossible to survive this journey without a partner. The theme illustrates that sometimes it’s best to listen to others advice because everyone isn’t able to defeat nature.
Their description of their love for their dog could also describe the dog's loyalty in a way because dogs are known for being very loyal to their owners as well as loving them very much. The owner may feel as though they will feel bad once the dog dies because of how loyal and loving the dog was. Also the dog may have saved him from a dangerous situation. The clue to that is when they say "how will I know in thicket ahead is treasure or danger."
When considering representation, the ways in which the authors choose to portray their characters can have a great impact on their accessibility. A firm character basis is the foundation for any believable novel. It is arguable that for an allegorical novel - in which Hard Times takes its structure, Dickens uses an unusually complex character basis. The characters in Hard Times combine both the simplistic characteristics of a character developed for allegorical purposes, as well as the concise qualities of ‘real’ people (McLucas, 1995). These characters are portrayed to think and feel like we as readers do and react to their situations in the same way that most of us would. Such attributes are what give the characters life and allow us to relate to their decisions.
Within the stories of these volumes of books, they have tapped in to something that may be about race, finding yourself, or just a fun story to tell. In my opinion, the authors such as Mark Twain, Kate Chopin, and more have developed a sense of popularity from their stories in which I like. Within these characters from theses short stories or poems, the audience can relate to what the characters may be going through and there outcome. Metaphors, synonyms, similes, hyperboles, and more rhetorical terms are present throughout the works from these creative authors. I find this to be interesting because having all these different elements and the events that occur makes me love these stories. Therefore, I would like to focus on my interpretation