Humanity In Jack London's Life By Caleb Crain

London’s use of third person allows the audience inside both the dog’s head as well as the nameless man’s. Given this insight, the reader is able to compare the readiness of the two to survive in such environments. Although the nameless man knows that temperature and basic facts about the Yukon, he is ignorant to the significance of the information. After London describes the temperature as being below negative seventy degrees, the nameless man “greets this ruthless cold matter-of-factly and with relatively mild surprise” (Widdicombe). Meanwhile the dog lacks the ability to comprehend the numerical temperature and is unimpressed by it yet its thoughts focus solely on survival. The man’s sophisticated form of thinking ultimately causes his downfall because in this occasion he must surrender to the guidance of instinct (Charles 2). Fortunately, the dog has its instinct and its instinct “told it a truer tale than was told to the man by the man’s judgement” (London 3). Although critical thinking is essential in many survival

If the man and dog worked together, their different traits would allow them to survive in such harsh conditions. As the man knew the facts and what to avoid in the environment, he lacked the imagination and instinct to be able to survive. He saw the cold as simply a “physical fact” (May 22). Meanwhile, the dog is incompetent to the factual information but intern can operate instinctually in the Yukon. But because the short story “To Build a Fire” is an anticapitalistic political statement, London has the two operate individually of each other and eventually only the strong survives. Because London’s story is different from what he believes in, he is able to strengthen the character roles of the nameless man, the dog, and