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Comparing 'And To Build A Fire'

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The short story “To build a Fire” by Jack London and the poem “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry both have unique perspectives of nature. Which shows the true nature of nature? Berry’s “To Build a Fire” shows the impartial yet serene beauty of nature which guides life as it is. He uses Imagery to show the struggles of life and the strong power of nature, along with the figurative language to show the peacefulness of nature. Tone is also used by London to influence his depiction of the power of nature.
Continued, The authors use imagery to describe ever changing nature. For example, from “To Build A Fire” paragraph 1, “It was all pure white, rolling in gentle undulations where the ice-jams of the freeze-up had formed.” This describes the peaceful side of nature, with ‘gentle’ hills and ‘pure’ white snow.
While, “The Peace of WIld Things” states, “I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” He feels the serenity of nature which frees him from ‘captivity’. Though they both show the calming sides of nature with imagery, “To build a fire” describes true examples of nature's traits without bias. In conclusion, Berry more accurately represents the serene moments in nature. …show more content…

Influenced by good connotation, the poem only describes one side of life (the positive side). Likewise, From London’s poem “The Peace of Wild Things” it says, “I feel above me the day-blind stars.” The metaphor embraces the hidden beauty of nature, with the example of the stars hidden in the day. “To Build a Fire” tells a different story, “as he chuckled he noted the numbness creeping into the exposed fingers.” Nature didn’t have mercy nor enact anything worse, nature is unforgiving yet unbiased. Finally, the short story by London uses the truth of nature's impartial traits without using only one

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