to build a fire
To Build a Fire The bone-chilling cold in To Build a Fire effects the main character, an unnamed man, and inevitably kills him. The unnamed man takes his chances in the wilderness by himself, with a half wild dog, even when told not to by an old prospector. The extremely cold temperature effects the basic motor function of his extremities. At 50 degrees below zero your hands will start to get frost bite and start to become nonfunctional. The man was taking his gloves off every once in a while to beat his hands on his chest to try to regain circulation. (Pages 2, 3, 5, 8, 9) This action didn’t help, it just made his fingers colder. The man also took his gloves off to eat and to build fires. The man wasn’t wearing a face mask so his cheeks and nose started to get frost bite on them. (Page 2) He successfully built one fire, which prolonged the usefulness of his fingers and toes. (Page 6) At 75 degrees below zero your feet will become numb and be chilled to the bone. While the man is walking, he breaks some ice and wets his feet; this is when his feet start to freeze because it is so cold outside and continues to get colder. (Page 5) The dog was effected by the water, but takes care of the ice by biting it off. (Page 4) The man continuing to walk help him a bit because he continues circulation, but it’s not the best and makes the blood cold. The cold just keeps getting colder. At 90 degrees below your body will completely shut down when exposed to the cold. The man has wet feet, his hands and feet don’t work anymore. He tries to build a fire but he can’t bend his fingers to get the twigs and fire starter where it needs to be. The man also makes a very fatal mistake, (Pages 7, 9) this mistake was probably made because of improper circulation of blood to the brain. This mistake cost him his life and once he realized it he accepted his fate. This mistake also impacted the dog because the dog was then a lone traveler. (Page 12) The congeal cold in To Build a Fire