To Build a Fire
The first line of Jack London's "To Build a Fire" states, "Day had broken cold and
grey, exceedingly cold and grey..." London repeats the words "cold and grey" to emphasis the enviro
nment that the man finds himself in. It is cold, twenty-five degrees colder than the man thinks that
it is, he is in a temperature that is seventy-five degrees below zero. Extremely cold and forbiddin
g, the grey casts a pall over the man, enveloping him and his dog. That the man pays no attention to
the coldness reveals to the reader that the man is oblivious to the cold or that he can handle the
elements or out of his element. However the man continues with the task at hand, to meet the others
at the camp before nightfall. The first line continues, "the man turned aside from the main Yukon t
rail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little traveled trail led eastward..." London
lets us know that the man is choosing a trail that is lightly traveled, where the light is dim, for
eshadow that the man is taking steps to his eventual demise, a place were light is not prevailing. N
ot many men travel through here and we learn later in the story that experienced men almost never tr
avel alone in this weather. The man is leaving the safety and security of a better worn and traverse
d trail to one that is isolated, dreary, and dangerous. In lines four and five London writes "There
was no sun nor hint of sun, though there was not cloud in the sky. It was a clear day, and yet there
seemed an intangible pall over the face of things..." The absence of the sun, gives the reader the
hint that there is something amiss, terribly unusual in the environment, the man is far up north, we
re the man is clearly out of his element. The man can not even see a hint of the sun even though the
re is not a cloud in the sky. The sun is far enough below the horizon so the sky is a deathly grey,
presenting the reader with ironic weather condition, no sun, no clouds, and although it is day time,
there is "no hint of the sun." London relates the sky as casting "an intangible pall" over the nam
eless man, clearly presents a foreboding picture that no good can seem to come out of it. That it is
intangible does it refer that the man cannot feel it or perceive it? It is there because London tel
ls us, but I believe even if the man could see and sense it, he would ignore it as he does all other
warning signals that nature has laid out in plain view. In line six London tells us the main probl
em that the man is infused with, is that although he sees what he is faced with, that he pay no atte
ntion to the observable by stating "This fact did not worry the man." What is the man thinking, as h
e descends off the dim main trail into a bleak, scarcely traveled trail? The man feels that nothing
will go wrong as long as he keeps his mental faculties in control. He had been warned by seasoned tr
avelers that it is best to travel with another man, who could provide a safety net if something were
to go wrong, he chooses to ignore this advice .The man does not mediate about the extreme cold; he
does not consider man's frailty to the temperature that he is facing. He lacks what the dog was born
with, below the conscience level, the instinct to perceive that he was going against an unforgiving
, uncaring, adversary that could steal away a man's life, indifferent to the outcome.
Line seven re
lates "He was use to the lack of sun." Our unnamed protagonist believes that he has become acclimate
d to the environment, taking on Mother Nature and the climate that he has chosen in his quest for go
ld, so far he has overcome all of her obstacles. It is a false sense of security that he enjoys, tha
t he can take on the weather as long as remains calm, cool, and collected, he will be successful in
his endeavors. London refers to the sun as that "cheerful orb" in the last line in the first paragra
ph. That the "cheerful" sun is not visible reinforces the overall experience of depression and bleak
ness that pervades this short story. Instinctually we know that the man will not live to see the sun
rise again. Going against all that he was told, the signs that were presented to him, he chooses to
go headlong to reach his final destination at the cost of his life.
In the opening paragraph Londo
n presents us with a scene that is gloomy, depressing, and ominous, these elements foreshadow an out
come that will be fatal to our protagonist. Our man has no name, but he does not need one, he could
be any man that has bitten off more than he can chew; he does not considered the consequences of his
actions until it is too late. By then there can be no return, he has crossed the line that cannot
be uncrossed, because he trusts his intellectual thought process, not paying attention to man's int
uitive thoughts, the instinctual ones that some men consider less valid because they come from the u
nconscious mind. His unwillingness to contemplate the extreme cold, the barely used trail, his dog'
s instincts, reflect the man's inability to view the whole picture. As London puts it "the man had n
o imagination" he thought only to keep moving and stay dry, then he would be fine, however the man i
n the end could do neither.
build fire first line jack london build fire states broken cold grey ex
ceedingly cold grey london repeats words cold grey emphasis environment that finds himself twenty fi
ve degrees colder than thinks that temperature that seventy five degrees below zero extremely forbid
ding casts pall over enveloping pays attention coldness reveals reader oblivious handle elements ele
ment however continues with task hand meet others camp before nightfall first line continues turned
aside from main yukon trail climbed high earth bank where little traveled trail eastward london lets
know choosing trail lightly traveled where light foreshadow taking steps eventual demise place were
light prevailing many travel through here learn later story experienced almost never travel alone t
his weather leaving safety security better worn traversed isolated dreary dangerous lines four five
writes there hint though there cloud clear there seemed intangible pall over face things absence giv
es reader hint something amiss terribly unusual environment north were clearly element even hint eve
n though cloud enough below horizon deathly presenting reader with ironic weather condition clouds a
lthough time relates casting intangible pall over nameless clearly presents foreboding picture good
seem come intangible does refer cannot feel perceive because tells believe even could sense would ig
nore does other warning signals nature laid plain view line tells main problem infused with although
sees what faced attention observable stating this fact worry what thinking descends main into bleak
scarcely traveled feels nothing will wrong long keeps mental faculties control been warned seasoned
travelers best travel another could provide safety something were wrong chooses ignore this advice
does mediate about extreme consider frailty temperature facing lacks what born below conscience leve
l instinct perceive going against unforgiving uncaring adversary could steal away life indifferent o
utcome seven relates lack unnamed protagonist believes become acclimated environment taking mother n
ature climate chosen quest gold overcome obstacles false sense security enjoys take weather long rem
ains calm cool collected will successful endeavors refers cheerful last first paragraph cheerful vis
ible reinforces overall experience depression bleakness pervades short story instinctually know will
live rise again going against told signs presented chooses headlong reach final destination cost li
fe opening paragraph presents scene gloomy depressing ominous these elements foreshadow outcome fata
l protagonist name need bitten more than chew considered consequences actions until late then return
crossed cannot uncrossed because trusts intellectual thought process paying attention intuitive tho
ughts instinctual ones some consider less valid because they come from unconscious mind unwillingnes
s contemplate extreme barely used instincts reflect inability view whole picture puts imagination th
ought only keep moving stay then would fine however neitherEssay, essays, termpaper, term paper, ter
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