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Ignorance In Jack London's To Build A Fire

1462 Words6 Pages

The Limitations of Ignorance Ignorance is a flaw that is engraved in the human psyche. This trait is exemplified in Jack London's short story “Building a Fire”. The protagonist's ignorance is his final grave mistake, other things were involved in his death, yet, his demise was encapsulated by his ignorance. By underestimating the uninviting and ferocious nature of the desolate Alaskan Tundra, the protagonist is faced with his imminent demise. London proves living in a state of ignorance and not using available resources is only going to be harmful. In the short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, the protagonist, who remains nameless, is trekking the Alaskan wilderness with his companion, a lone dog. The man is traveling by himself against …show more content…

It was at this point that he decided to be a writer, he started writing about everything: Horror, adventure, jokes, and more. He found immediate success with his adventure stories, in part due to his ridiculous haste in writing. It was at this time that he started publishing works such as “White Fang”, “The Call of the Wild” and “To Build a Fire”. The Klondike Gold Rush started in the 1870s, almost 30 years before London's writing campaign. The area became extremely popular with men and women all over the Americas. Once news broke that there were riches in the Yukon, tens of thousands of men and women immediately dropped everything they were doing and began the long and dreary trip north. These men and women were called “stampeders”. The vast majority of the stampeders were fatally unprepared for the climate of northern Canada, this resulted in more than half of those who started the journey never arriving in the Yukon. To the stampeder's dismay, the quantity of gold was exaggerated and many were forced to return home in debt, or not have the funds to return home at all. The Yukon is the setting of the story. Known for its harsh climate and vast wilderness, the high-elevation forests have captured many lives. There are few towns and the towns that are

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