"Powder" & "To Build a Fire" Compare and Contrast When people think of snowstorms they often think of destruction and disaster, but not many realize how such tragedies can bring others together. Both of these stories depict the feeling of friendship and the building of relationships in your mind. Since these stories are so similar but vary in a variety of ways, I find them so interesting to read. So with all being said, are you ready to get started? Jack London shows the growth of friendship through the man and the dog, whereas Tobias Wolff does the same. At the beginning of the story, the boy was annoyed with his father and wanted to go home so he can spend Christmas with his mom, but closer to the end he starts to enjoy himself. In the text, it says, "And …show more content…
Unlike "Powder" (Tobias Wolff), the man in "To Build a Fire" (Jack London) is living in solitary and builds a bond with a stray dog and helps each other survive. While in "Powder" (Tobias Wolff), the father and son enhance their relationship through unplanned disastrous times. Also, Tobias Wolff in "Powder" tells the story in first person point of view when he's speaking as the boy using common personal pronouns. Evidence from the text says, "By now I couldn't see the trail....I stuck close behind him and did what he did and somehow made it to the bottom without sailing off a cliff."(Tobias Wolff) While "Powder" (Tobias Wolff) uses first person, "To Build a Fire" illustrates third person point of view. In the text it describes, "Then he went down a bank to the frozen path." From this, you can recognize the change in the point of view between stories. Last but not least, the final contrast I've spotted between both stories is the difference in characters. Jack London chose a man and a dog to tell his story whereas Tobias Wolff chose a father and son to explain the snowstorm