Literary Analysis: To Build A Fire

Hope Wilhite

Myers

EN H 4th

30 January 2016

To Build A Fire Literary Analysis To Build A Fire is a short story that shows the true unmerciful power of nature. A man's foolish decision to think he could defeat nature ended with the taking of his life. The story takes place in one of the coldest expanses of land in the world, Alaska. An Alaskan winter one of the most brutal environments the human body can endure. The temperatures range from fifteen degrees to bellow zero. The main character in the story had no idea what he was getting himself into when he decided to walk outdoors that day. Nature truly has no mercy. This unnamed, foolish man was a newcomer in the Yukon and had absolutely no business the be alone outside trying to reach a

There are hot springs in the creek that heat up certain places on the ice making it thin and almost watery. The man uses the dog and pushes it out onto the ice only for the dogs hind legs to fall through. To warm both of them up after the mishap, he builds a fire. He sits until he sees fit, gets a bite to eat, and then they continue on their journey. Unfortunately, he breaks through the ice himself and must stop to make another fire to warm his feet and dry his shoes. He stupidly build they fire directly under a tree causing the snow to fall on top of the fire. He begins to panic slightly calming himself, but finally realizing he may be in trouble. His second attempt at this fire is disastrous, his hands are too cold to pull out a match so he had to use his mouth. When he lit the fire the smoke went directly into his lungs causing him to cough uncontrollably. Next, he gets annoying and grabs all the matches and lights them only for his numb hands to drop them all over the cold winter ground. Now he found himself alone, frozen, and with no fire. He panics and begins to sprint as best he could in the deep snow in the direction of the mine. He feels his body begin to warm up, but his dying body can not continue running in the snow. He feels foolish because he he did not face his fate with dignity. He lies down into the snow accepting his fate. As he is dying, he has a vision of himself. In the vision, his friends that he was meeting