The Law Of Life And To Build A Fire Short Story

Death is a mysterious thing. People have wondered about death ever since there was life. The reason it’s so mysterious is because we never know when it will come for us. In the two stories of “The Law of Life” and “To Build a Fire” our main characters are faced with imminent death. They both know it’s coming for them eventually, yet they only find out for sure after they are already dead. These two stories have many similarities including the setting, the main concept of death, and the struggle of man vs. nature, but despite these similarities they also have many differences such as the type of main character, the way they think of death, and how they go about dying. In both stories we are shown a wilderness type area completely frozen over and snowy. They both are even in the same

In “To Build a Fire” our main character is described as “He was a newcomer in the land, and this was his first winter.The trouble with him was that he was not able to imagine. He was quick and ready in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in their meanings.” (London 65) He was a man that had too much faith in his abilities and didn’t listen to others advice. On the other hand our main character in “The Law of Life” he is described by himself as “It is well. I am as a last year 's leaf, clinging lightly to the stem. The first breath that blows, and I fall. My voice is become like an old woman 's. My eyes no longer show me the way of my feet, and my feet are heavy, and I am tired.”(London 2) He is an old man on the brink of death and takes things like his death into his own hands and accepts what is happening. This is by far the biggest difference between the two characters. One is rash and does things his own way and is constantly trying to escape death, and the other is old, wise man that excepts his death and understands that it is his time whether he likes it or