1. How does “To Build a Fire” by Jack London deal with man’s struggle with nature?
The story “To Build a Fire” deals with man’s struggle with himself, with his willpower, and with nature. It is clear from the very outset that “He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significance” (London 120). It means that he knows that there is ice everywhere. He is also sensing that the temperature is going below 50 and even below 75, and even remember the old man’s advice about not going out in such a freezing cold. However, he could not understand the significance of this in his life. By the end, he comes to know his limits, and there the struggle starts from nature to himself when he thinks that his strength cannot take him running to the camp where he comes to know the reality that “His idea of it was that he had been making a fool of himself” (128). That means that he came to reality at last after fighting with himself that he should not die, but death is staring in his face.
2. Was hubris involved in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London?
Hubris which means taking excessive pride in one’s ability seems to be at work in the character of the man who starts his journey to the camp in the freezing cold of below 70 degrees. In fact, it is more than this because he does not care to pay heed to the advice of the old timer who tells him clearly that a man should not go out when the temperature is below zero. He remembers it when he is around halfway through trapped but still, he thinks of them as “womanish, some of them” (London 124). He thinks that “All a man had to do was to keep his head” (124) and by the end, he loses this. Hence, this is his hubris given in the outcome of this story.
3. How is the setting of “To Build a Fire” by Jack London is minimal or rich?
The setting in the story “To Build a Fire” is minimal in that wherever the man looks, there is only ice, “North and south, as far as he eyes could see” (London 120) that is ice and snow. However, it is quite rich in the description as he not only thinks about the present, about himself, and about his future. The man thinks about the freezing temperature, its effects, and the things that he has worn to ward off the frost “mittens, ear-flaps, warm moccasins, and thick socks” (120). Then his acts of making a fire unsuccessfully and his final race toward the camp further enriches the setting.
4. From what point of view is London’s story told?
The story “To Build a Fire” has been told in the third person point of view. The third person is always an omniscient narrator who stays above the characters and tells everything about them. He even enters the thoughts of his characters as does Faulkner who is a third-person narrator and analyzes the thoughts of the man. He shows the contrast through the thoughts of his character and the dog which is with him. The narrator has also passed judgment on the man saying that “He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significance” (London 120). According to him, it was this significance of the advice of the old timer of the Sulphur Creek.
5. What is the impact of the anonymity of the character in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London?
This technique used in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London shows that he is a naturalist who believes that survival is for the fittest and the dog is better equipped to cope with the freezing temperature than the man. The theme is universal that though man is a rational creature, sometimes even the man has a trouble that Jack London says “The Trouble with him was that he was without imagination” (London 120). He could not sense any sense in the advice of the old-timer “But the dog knew; all its ancestry knew, and it had inherited the knowledge” that the man could not” (122). Therefore, by making the man anonymous, Jack London has put the man against nature and side by side with the animals who are instinctively fit to survive in extreme weather.
Relevant Short Questions about “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
- In “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, how does the harsh Yukon wilderness serve as a central antagonist in the narrative, posing significant challenges to the protagonist?
- What role does the theme of human hubris play in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, and how does it contribute to the protagonist’s predicament?
- “To Build a Fire” by Jack London explores the theme of survival in extreme conditions. How does the protagonist’s experience in the story reflect the harsh realities of nature and the consequences of underestimating it?
- Can you discuss the significance of the title, “To Build a Fire,” and how it encapsulates the story’s central struggle and theme?
- In “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, how does the relationship between the protagonist and the dog symbolize the fundamental differences between instinct and intellect in the face of nature’s unforgiving forces?
Works Cited
London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.” American Literature, https://americanliterature.com/author/jack-london