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To Build A Fire By Jack London Essay

416 Words2 Pages

George Lim
Core B #15 Extended Paragraph ~ To Build a Fire by Jack London

In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” the protagonist endures many challenging experiences which reflect a theme of the arrogance of man can cause fatal consequences. From analyzing and inferring from the text it can be argued that arrogance is an enemy, especially when dealing with nature. London’s story of a lone man and his wolf-dog on a journey in the freezing Yukon. The man makes many mistakes along the way which places him in a life or death situation. Firstly, arrogance in the man’s own abilities made him make poor decisions and not listening to the advice of experts on the region. After saving himself in the harsh weather, the man “ remembered the advice of the old-timer on Sulphur Creek, and smiled…..” (Pg 7, line 10)This …show more content…

The man said the old-timer was very womanish but is naive enough to not appreciate that the old-timer probably knows a lot more about the Yukon than he does. Secondly, the man’s arrogance and decisions led to his death. In the beginning, the man did not follow other people to Henderson Creek.”He was bound for the old claim on the left fork of Henderson Creek, where the boys were already….” (pg 2, line 19) This quote tells us a lot about the man. The man voluntarily separated from his group which is very surprising, considering that the man is a new comer. This quote conveys just how idiotic the man is on his chance for survival in such a harsh climate, such as the Yukon. Thirdly the man’s arrogance led to his death. “.....He chuckled at his foolishness, and as he chuckled he noted the numbness creeping into the exposed fingers.” (pg 5, line 5)This line tells us a little bit of everything that's about to happen in the story. The cold creeping into his fingers is what

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