To Build a Fire
The short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a short story about a man traveling along the Yukon River in the bitter winter weather. While warned against traveling alone in the frigid cold, he travels out to meet his companions at a remote camp many miles away, with only his native Husky dog. Overcome by mother nature, he eventually dies along the way, leaving his dog to complete the journey alone. This story displays how the forces of nature can surprisingly overwhelm even the most confident of men. The traveler, or also referred to as a ,“Chechaquo” (421). Chechaquo is the main character of “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. This guy is a quick and alert man,but seems like this is his first time taking this route to his destination. He knows the ways of the arctic , but it becomes obvious that he has never experienced a situation like this. The man is sharp-eyed and quite resourceful, as he demonstrated when he coaxes the dog to walk ahead of him across the ice, in case of soft spots. “He had felt the give under his feet and heard the crackle of a snow-hidden ice-skin. And to get his feet wet in such a temperature meant trouble and danger.”(424). A combination of arrogance and confidence are obvious with almost every thought he has. Even when faced with his own life or death situation , the man fights to contain himself and remain calm. The author uses the dog traveling with the man to support some of the less obvious points in the story. We know from the dog’s point of view that the climate is not simply cold, but closer to unbearable. He displays a total lack of respect for the environment in which he has chosen to travel. From the beginning, I understood that the man is undertaking a task where most would wait for more suitable conditions. His trip begins well enough, yet soon becomes disastrous when he breaks through the ice and wets himself up to the waist. He is more angry than worried as he begins to build a fire to dry his