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Arrogance In To Build A Fire

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In Jack London's "To Build a Fire," the man's arrogance and ignorance lead him to face a series of conflicts that ultimately result in his demise.

The man in "To Build a Fire" is a solitary and arrogant figure who believes he can conquer the harsh, sub-zero temperatures of the Yukon. He disregards the advice of an old-timer at Sulfur Creek, who warns him not to travel alone in such cold conditions. The man's ignorance and hubris are evident in his decision to ignore the advice and forge ahead. This sets the stage for his conflicts throughout the story.

Man vs. Nature: The man is constantly battling the brutal natural elements of the Yukon, including the extreme cold and the unpredictable terrain. He struggles to keep warm, to navigate the snow-covered landscape, and to find food and shelter. The visuals in the collage include an …show more content…

Self: The man's arrogance and self-assuredness ultimately lead him to his downfall. He is overconfident in his abilities and ignores the signs that he is in danger. He brushes off the sensation of his spit freezing mid-air as a mere inconvenience and convinces himself that he can make it to the camp before nightfall. The visuals in the collage include a close-up of the man's face, showing his determination and stubbornness.

Man vs. Animal: The man is threatened by a hungry wolf that follows him throughout the story. The wolf represents the wildness and danger of the natural world that the man is facing. The man tries to assert his dominance over the wolf, but the animal remains a constant threat. The visuals in the collage include an image of the wolf stalking the man.

Man vs. Man: The man is also in conflict with the other characters in the story, particularly the old-timer at Sulfur Creek. The old-timer represents wisdom and experience, but the man dismisses his advice and sets out on his own. The visuals in the collage include an image of the old-timer's face, representing the man's refusal to listen to the wisdom of

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In the below-freezing temperatures, he encounters challenges that are associated with survival of the fittest. He is left with no strength to fight for himself and perishes at the hands of nature's ruthless and unforgiving power. Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” demonstrates the goal to survive in the cold while using naturalism, realism, and foreshadowing in the fight for survival. London presented an understanding of what might happen in the future of the book. The foreshadowing tactics he used gave us an insight into what is going to happen next: “Usually

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Unfortunately for him, at the beginning of his journey, the cold did not bother The Man. He states, “it was cold and uncomfortable, and that was all…it did not lead him to consider his weaknesses as a creature affected by temperature” (London 2). The man knew it was extremely cold, but failed to recognize the intense gravity of his situation: he did not process it as a viable threat. Eventually, this lack of fear caused his unfortunate demise. As the story goes on, his environment begins to

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The word comes to mind because the man is determined to take this dangerous journey across the Yukon territory of Alaska to Henderson Creek although it is about 50 degrees below zero. During his journey the man builds a fire and eats his biscuits. After he ate he starts to walk again for a while longer, but the man breaks through the ice and has to stop and build a fire all over again to dry his boots and warm his feet. As he builds a new fire, he thinks about an old man who told him that people should never travel alone in the Yukon when it's colder than fifty degrees below zero. The man thinks the old man should man up.

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Jack London, author of the story wrote this to show that applying scientific knowledge over instinctual knowledge can put oneself in a negative situation. In "To Build a Fire," written by Jack London, London argues about the dangers of applying scientific knowledge over instinctual

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It’s Lit The story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London takes place in the wilderness of the Yukon trail. A newcomer to the trail travels with his husky wolf-dog to meet his friends at camp. Unfazed by the cold, the man chooses to ignore nature’s warnings and continues to tread through the vast and frigid Yukon trail in order to get to the camp by six o’clock, but he struggles to survive because he cannot keep a fire lit.

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The wolf follows not because of any sort of kinship, but because the man might build a fire which would warm up the wolf. Through the story the wolf instinctively knows just how dangerous the cold is and the fear associated with it. It follows the man even though it can survive itself just to get a little extra warmth from the man’s fire. If the wolf wanted to it could leave and curl up on a pile of snow without consequence. When the man would leave the fire the wolf would stay by it to discourage further travel through the cold, right after is when the man fell through some ice into water.

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The tone of “To Build a Fire” is of a very dangerous situation. A man and dog travels in the Yukon in the snow with temperatures below fifty degrees. He is planning to meet six of his friends at a claim to search for gold. Not only did he not dress properly, he didn’t seem concerned that the weather could kill him. Older miners had warned him previously not to go out in the winter if the temperature was this low.

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The narrator discusses how ignorant The Man is to his situation throughout the duration of the story because he is led by his enormous ego. The Man doesn’t respect nature, believing that he can overpower it, but London’s naturalist perspective tells the reader otherwise. To show how ignorant The Man is, London writes that The Man thinks “the temperature did not matter” (65). This is false, however, because, in the end, The Man’s ignorance and ego ultimately led him to freeze to death. After all, nature always wins when paired with man.

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Then, there is the character known as “The Old Man''. The Old Man originally warns The Man to not go outside without a partner if the environment is more than 50 degrees below freezing. The man in the beginning speaks derogatorily of The Old Man, but does not mention a name. Even as The Man lays in the snow dying, The Old Man is not given a name. The narrator also treats the people in this story objectively.

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The beautiful yet deadly Yukon winter is a dangerous place for a lonely traveler. Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” depicts such a beautiful yet dangerous place. In this story, a man must travel a long distance across the frozen tundra and risk freezing to death in the elements. However, this man is not familiar enough with his environment to understand the danger he faces. Throughout this short story, the author uses specific word choices, or diction, to create a somber, fatalistic, and irate mood.

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He refuses sound advice and ultimately fails in his attempt to be better than nature. In this process, the man is struggling

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He plans to play chess, but the gallery labeled “Marvelous Taming of the Steppenwolf” distracts him. He recognizes the animal tamer to himself, mean and alone. The man commands the wolf to do menial tricks like kneeling and playing dead or rolling over. This is realted to men today because if you don’t really have much people will try and make you a dog or some type of animal just for kicks, and make you feel less of a person just because you may not be in the same social class as they are go to the same places, or drive the same cars. People will treat you like dirt just because you are different.

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To Build A Fire is a short tragic tale by Jack London that narrates about a man’s last days on the earth. The story’s protagonist is passing through the sub-freezing land of the Yukon when he becomes the victims of an unforgiving and harsh force of nature. Before embarking on the journey, the man is warned against walking alone on such severe weather conditions and even if his instincts also warn him, he decides to ignore all the signs and his conscience and to follow his ego. He makes several attempts to light a fire but does not make it. It is after several attempts that the man finally gives in to the forces of nature and awaits his now evident death.

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