To Build a Fire: Difference between revisions

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* {{cite book |last=Gair |first=Christopher |date={{date|2011}} |chapter=The Wires Were Down: The Telegraph and the Cultural Self in “To Build a Fire” and ''White Fang'' |title=Jack London |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Harold |series=Bloom’s Modern Critical Views |url= |location=New York |publisher=Bloom’s Literary Criticism |pages=73–90 }}
* {{cite book |last=Gair |first=Christopher |date={{date|2011}} |chapter=The Wires Were Down: The Telegraph and the Cultural Self in “To Build a Fire” and ''White Fang'' |title=Jack London |editor-last=Bloom |editor-first=Harold |series=Bloom’s Modern Critical Views |url= |location=New York |publisher=Bloom’s Literary Criticism |pages=73–90 }}
* {{cite journal
| last1      = Hillier
| first1    = Russell
| date      = 2010
| title      = Crystal Beards and Dantean Influence in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire (II)'
| journal    =  American Literature
| volume    = 23
| issue      = 3
| pages      = 172-178
}}
* {{Cite book |last=London |first=Jack | date=2002 |orig-year=1908 |chapter=To Build a Fire |title=Reading and Writing about Literature |editor-last=Sipiora |editor-first=Phillip |publisher=Prentice Hall |location=Upper Saddle Creek, NJ |pages=149–160 }}
* {{Cite book |last=London |first=Jack | date=2002 |orig-year=1908 |chapter=To Build a Fire |title=Reading and Writing about Literature |editor-last=Sipiora |editor-first=Phillip |publisher=Prentice Hall |location=Upper Saddle Creek, NJ |pages=149–160 }}
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Revision as of 20:28, 29 September 2021

“To Build a Fire”
AuthorJack London
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Adventure, short story
Publication date1902, 1908

“To Build a Fire” is a 1908 short story by Jack London.

Plot

Characters

The Man

The man travels in the Yukon Territories with a husky. He is a “chechaquo," or a newcomer,[1] making him overconfident and inexperienced, but self-assured because he knows the “facts.”[2]

The Dog

The dog is a “big native husky”[3] that accompanies the man along on his journey; the dog operates based on instinct.[2]

The Old-Timer

Though he only appears in flashbacks, the Old-Timer from Sulphur Creek warns the man about the cold and traveling alone. [4]

Major Themes

A major theme of “Fire” is man versus nature, specifically, that man’s arrogance blinds him to nature and its potential.[5] The Klondike is an area that is a grasping story of the battle of the frozen Yukon trail.[6] It is an account of man versus nature, yet inside that story is one more story about a man's pride and unreadiness to acknowledge nature for what it is. [5] At the point when the man dismisses the law of nature, the discipline managed out naturally is serious. [7] The punishment of death comes to about because of attempting to stay away from it. [8] There is a big contrast between the information and that man has and the information he ought to have had.[1]


The importance of community as opposed to self-reliance in survival and growth is emphasized in “Fire.”[5]

Critic Donald Pizer explains how the limit of individualism is a key theme in this story. [9] The protagonist of the novel frequently claims his ability to travel alone and feels he can survive the harsh winter conditions. [10] Despite the cautions of the old man at Sulphur Creek, he refuses to travel with a companion, which ultimately leads to his death. [11]The man is unaware of the value of receiving assistance from others and believes that his own abilities will assure his survival. Apart from declining to go with a companion, the man demonstrates independence by dismissing the old man's wisdom and ignoring experience and guidance. The fact that the old man is an American in unfamiliar terrain is one piece of information that we are provided with. Individual freedoms and liberties are prized in American culture, and London's experience exemplifies the risks that these beliefs can engender.

A theme of "To Build A Fire" by London, is self destruction. The protagonist not only ignores the old-timers warning to travel with a partner, lacks imagination but he is incapable of companionability. [12] He traveled alone except for a wolf dog, in which he treated with contempt and hostility. [12] Not only by trying to use him to check for faults in the ice, at the end he thought about killing him to warm his hands. The protagonist also contuses to chew tobacco causing a amber beard to form, which later obstructs his his mouth when tries to eat. [13] Then we are presented by the repetition of him trying to build a fire and failing again and again at his own despise. first by having the fire blotted out by an avalanche of snow, second, by having his book of Sulphur matches extinguished in one fell, and third by having fire snuffed out by a large piece of moss. [12] These failed attempts show that his arrogance and unwillingness to listen to others will lead to his own down fall.

Development History

Publication History

Explanation of the Work's Title

Literary Significance and Reception

Awards and Nominations

Adaptations

"To Build A Fire" was adapted into a multi-award-winning short film in 2016. The making of the film was to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Jack London. It was directed and written by Fx Goby.[14]

Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sipiora 2002, p. 149.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sipiora 2002, p. 160.
  3. ↑ Sipiora 2002, p. 150.
  4. ↑ Sipiora 2002, p. 154.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Sipiora 2002, p. 161.
  6. ↑ Sipiora 2002, p. 157.
  7. ↑ Sipiora 2002, p. 156.
  8. ↑ Sipiora 2002, p. 158.
  9. ↑ Pizer 2010, p. 219.
  10. ↑ Pizer 2010, p. 220.
  11. ↑ Pizer 2010, p. 221.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Hillier 2010, p. 173.
  13. ↑ Hillier 2010, p. 175.
  14. ↑ Gatrell 2018.

Works Cited

See also: Annotated Bibliography.

  • Gair, Christopher (2011). "The Wires Were Down: The Telegraph and the Cultural Self in "To Build a Fire" and White Fang". In Bloom, Harold (ed.). Jack London. Bloom’s Modern Critical Views. New York: Bloom’s Literary Criticism. pp. 73–90.
  • Hillier, Russell (2010). "Crystal Beards and Dantean Influence in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire (II)'". American Literature. 23 (3): 172–178.
  • London, Jack (2002) [1908]. "To Build a Fire". In Sipiora, Phillip (ed.). Reading and Writing about Literature. Upper Saddle Creek, NJ: Prentice Hall. pp. 149–160.
  • Pizer, Donald (April 2010). "Jack London's "To Build a Fire": How Not To Read Naturalist Fiction". Philosophy & Literature. 34 (1): 218–227.
  • Sipiora, Phillip, ed. (2002). Reading and Writing about Literature. Upper Saddle Creek, NJ: Prentice Hall. pp. 149–160.

External Links

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