To Build A Fire, By Jack London

Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire" is the tragic narrative of a man who decides to travel alone through the hostile environment of the sub-freezing Yukon and quickly finds himself tied up in the harsh power of nature. The man accidentally falls through ice and into numbing water, drenching his feet for the remainder of his journey. Because of the severity of the cold, his life depends on whether he can build a fire immediately to avoid frostbite. After one partially successful attempt to compile a fire and several other pathetic ventures, the hopelessness of the lone man's struggle becomes apparent. After a period of panic, the man desperately tries to regain feeling in his limbs by running a great deal, but the man decides to face

The main character is frank and daring, but he underestimates the innovative thinking required to complete his expedition, motivated by his meeting with the boys in the short future, but shielded by his arrogance and over-confidence. He is defined as both a dynamic and flat character as he encounters internal and external changes but obtains limited identifying characteristics, with the exception of the absence of creativity and his hubris. Although, his general personality and character traits, as well as his lack of a name, allow him to represent a variety of London’s readers, embellishing an archetypal character. Therefore, any reader is able to imagine him or herself in a situation similar to the main character’s. Contradicting the man, his “big native husky” (London 851), was bred to both endure and adapt to the harsh climates, allowing it to be aware of and prepare for the conditions it and his companion would face. The dog is presented as a forewarning to the man, revealing his reluctance to execute their journey with his gait and caution across the ice. While doing so, the husky senses both the danger of nature’s hazards and a man who intends to kill him to maintain the protagonist’s body temperature, which empowers the husky to survive when the man

London’s writing is often stark and straightforward, conveying the harshness of the frozen Yukon landscape and the harsh realities of survival in such a hostile environment. The author's detached tone reflects the protagonist’s own detachment from his surroundings and his overconfidence in his own abilities. The narrator describes the “exceedingly cold and gray” (850) environment and the man's frozen face without much emotion or investment. Although, in both the beginning and end of the narrative, the author illustrates both a brutal and ominous tone. The tone portrayed at the beginning of the short story, “To Build a Fire,” is required to set a “subtle gloom” (850) and dispirited mood for readers. In addition, the tone acts as a foundation for the setting of the story. As the story progresses, the tone becomes increasingly desperate and urgent, as the main character realizes it was “a matter of life and death with the chances against him” (859) to stay alive in the face of mounting obstacles and