Introduction of the Story
“To Build A Fire”, the short story written by Jack London has two versions. The first one was published in 1902 and the other version was published in 1908. Both of them are based on the same plot but have different twists towards the end. The 1908 version of the story has often become an anthological classic whereas the 1902 version is less known and less popular as compared to the former one. In the 1908 version, there is an unnamed protagonist who decides one day to venture around and hike through the sub - zero Tundra areas of Yukon Territory to meet up with his friends and is accompanied by a dog. The story traces the man's movement towards his death as he vainly attempts to travel across the Yukon trail in temperatures dropping to seventy - five degrees below zero. The dog, an inhabitant of natural surroundings, on the other hand, survives.
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| Jack London’s Short Story To Build A Fire—Theme and Summary of the Story |
The background of the story is quite extreme. It is too harsh to survive but the man in his arrogance and stupidity invites his own peril. The message is quite clear as well; you cannot fight with nature when she is at her worst. From the beginning, the author builds up a certain curiosity in reader's mind with the slow tension build up. In the story all situations are quite ironical as well because from the beginning it was clear that man should not do this. Yet he does it anyway just to prove everyone wrong. It also moralises that having confidence on yourself is great but over - confidence can kill you. In this case it literally killed him. The description of the harsh surrounding is really interesting; it can grab the reader's attention in a few minutes without giving away too much. London's way of depicting the man's emotions: over - confidence, arrogance, stupidity and of course desperation is really great.
Theme of the Story:
Man vs. Nature:
Log Man vs. Nature is one of the themes present in this story. The protagonist decides to face the brutal cold temperatures of the Yukon Territory, despite being warned by an older man. The story depicts the protagonist's battle of life and death while highlighting the importance of the fire.
Instinct:
One theme illustrated in the story is the man's human sense of judgment contrasted with the dog's animal instincts. Throughout the story, the author hints that the dog has more knowledge of survival than the man. The judgment vs. instinct theme is evident when the man builds the first fire. While the dog wants to stay by the fire to keep warm, the man is determined to keep moving. As the dog reluctantly follows the man across a frozen river, the dog is more cautious than the man.
Desperation:
The protagonist's desperation is evident throughout the majority of the story. It is noticeable soon after the man falls into a frozen - over river. In order to save himself, he scrambles to build a fire but is too busy worrying about his health to notice the mistake of building a fire underneath a tree which has collected an enormous amount of snow. After the first fire is put out, his desperation becomes more defined as he seemingly will do anything to survive, including attempting to kill his dog for warmth and using all his matches at once in a final attempt to light his last fire. His desperation for survival and his fear of death cause his final demise as he freezes to death at the end of the story.
Stupidity and Arrogance:
Stupidity and arrogance are personified in the story's protagonist. For example, he goes through the extremely cold territory alone, despite going for the first time. He laughs off the crucial advice of travelling with an acquaintance because he thinks he knows what he is doing. This arrogance results in the protagonist putting himself in a dangerous situation that was preventable. At first, he thinks it is nothing and that everything will be fine. By the end of the story, he dies as a result of his arrogance. Another example of arrogance occurs when the protagonist disregards the possibility that there may be situations he cannot overcome. The old man warns the protagonist of this and also seems to have a better understanding of the natural world, respecting the fact that there are some situations the man will be unable to control. Not only does the old man see the protagonist's stupidity, but the dog notices the man's lack of knowledge about the terrain and its obstacles after he fails to keep a fire going.
The Power of Imagination:
Early in the story, the man is identified as not being a ‘thinker’ and ‘unimaginative’. He is aware of the world around him and of the terrible cold, but he does not imagine the possible outcomes. Because the man eventually dies due to his initial mistake of travelling on such a cold day, his failure to imagine possible outcomes of his choice is linked to his inability to survive. Imagination could have saved his life. If he had been more imaginative, more open to the possibilities of what could result from his actions and from the terrible cold, he might have avoided these mistakes.
At the end of the story, in the moments of the man's death, his imagination suddenly flourishes. He imagines the boys finding his body in the snow and he contemplates the certainty of his own death. These imaginative acts are linked to his acceptance of his death.
Summary of the Story:
The Man's Showing His Indifferent Attitude to the Perils of the Way and His Ignoring the Advice of A Veteran:
Alaska is normally a very cold place due to its proximity to the North Pole. In winter the region becomes infernally cold. On one such morning, an unnamed naive young man sets out on a trek somewhere in the Yukon valley area to meet his friends. Before he started, he had been cautioned by a veteran of the area about the perils of the walk. The veteran had told the man that the snow - covered terrain becomes too dangerous to wade through in winter. One ought to have a friend by the side as a support when unforeseen dangers fall in the way. On this occasion, the man chose to ignore the advice and began his journey accompanied by not - so - loyal a dog.
Background and Surroundings of the Place:
The landscape looked gloomy and dark. The sun had not quite unravelled itself. A few more days had to go before the sun's mild rays would appear. Along the way, he encountered piles and piles of snow sitting on solid ice. The Yukon was almost a kilometer wide. It was a vast expanse of snow - filled white that looked foreboding. A narrow black trail snaked through the land. This was the trail the man had to follow. The trail ran for hundreds of miles to the north and to the south. Everything that day seemed so frightening. The mercury had reached minus fifty, darkness pervaded the area and the narrow trail seemed to reach nowhere. Confronting all these odds was humanly impossible, but the lone traveller was not overawed. He decided to trudge on. He had never undertaken such an adventure. Although he had no short of energy, he lacked common sense and canniness. He could not comprehend that overawed minus fifty temperature brought extreme frost hazards.
The Man's Longing to Meet His Friends in their Camp:
The man had to go and meet his good old friends in the left fork of the Henderson Creek. He yearned to be in their midst. To gauge how cold it was, he spat. It froze with a crackle in the air, well before falling on the ground. The sound startled him. He concluded that it could be much colder than minus fifty. He hoped to reach the camp by 6 o’clock. Then he could sit by the fire huddled with his friends and enjoy a hot night meal with them. He had brought some food items to eat along the way. These were tucked in his pockets. The food consisted of high energy biscuits sopped with bacon grease and a few slices of bacon.
The Dog's Sensing the Danger of the Way:
The man walked through a thicket of spruce trees. The trail was barely visible. The last sledge had gone along the trail long ago. Snow had nearly obliterated the trail. He felt good because he had no luggage to carry other than his biscuits. The cold was beginning to bite gnawing at the uncovered parts of his face. It was painful. The accompanying dog was a local species, more like a wolf than a dog. It was a robust beast, as defiant as his master. However, it, too, felt the cold to be too harsh. The mercury had possibly reached minus seventy. At this temperature, frost reaches a measure of one hundred and seven. The dog's instinct told him that danger stalked them at every step. In its own way, the dog was prodding its master to stop and light a fire. It desperately wanted some warmth. There was snow all over the dog's face. It was becoming lumpy in places. In desperation, it licked its master's toes to make him stop and light a fire. The same thing was happening to the man. He was chewing tobacco, but could not spit as snow had clipped his two lips shut. His face was looking so weird.
The Man's Refusing to Be Submissive against the Hurdles and His arriving at Henderson Creek:
Despite all the ominous signs, the man appeared nonplussed. He had earlier battled with cold in his earlier wanderings. So he refused to be cowed down. The man, undeterred by the hostile conditions, continued to walk. He crossed a few patches of forest, till he came across a stream nearly frozen. The place was Henderson Creek. His destination lay ten miles ahead. It was 10 a.m. He calculated that he was walking at four miles an hour. At this rate, he could reach the forks by half past twelve. Somewhat reassured, he sat down for lunch. The man was not of the very contemplative kind. He did not think much. He imagined that by 6 o’clock, he would reach the camp to be in the midst of his friends.
His Sensing the Danger of the Hidden Puddles:
The man was beginning to realise that the cold was unusual and conditions were really grim. But he continued to walk rubbing his face with the leather hand gloves he wore. But the cold was taking its toll. His cheeks and nose became numb. He wished he had brought something to cover his cheek and nose, but he continued to walk defiantly. The man kept observing his surroundings. He could sense that there was a hot spring spewing out hot liquid incessantly. The liquid didn't freeze even in very low temperature. But the warmth of the hot spring could bring danger as, at times, pools of hot fluid trapped under snow. Stepping on these could be dangerous. He knew that his shoes, and feet could get wet. To dry them, he might need to light a fire. All these were bothersome as he could not afford to waste further time. Ascertaining that the stream flew from the right, he decided to proceed along the left. He sensed the presence of a treacherous hidden puddle and pushed the dog forward to walk on it. The dog sulked for a while, but went forward when pushed again. It fell into the puddle, made itself wet, but bounced back to safety. However, the water on its legs froze instantly. He knew ice sticking to the dog's feet could cause him much trouble later. He removed the leather gloves from his hand and removed the ice from the dog's feet with his bare hands.
The Man's Lighting the Fire to Warm Himself:
It was 12 o’clock, when the sun had to be at its brightest, yet, on that day, it was dim and muted. In another half an hour, he reached the forks of the creek. He was happy at the way he was nearing his destination. He could be with his friends by six. This thought buoyed him up. He took out his lunch packet from struggled to take a bite as his hand and fingers could not stand the extreme cold temperature. His toes also became increasingly numb. He realised that he should have lighted a fire to warm himself first. As he was remembered the warnings the elderly man from Sulphur Creek had sounded s beginning to feel nervous, he about the dangers the extreme cold could pose for the traveller. He tried to work up some warmth by vigorously moving his limbs. Deciding to start a fire, he collected some twigs. The fire was lit and in a few moments it burned brightly. This helped him to shrug off the ice flakes and warm his food. With relish, he began to eat his biscuits. The dog, too, sat by the fire and warmed itself.
The Man's Resuming His Journey and the Dog's Longing to Remain by the Fire:
The man decided to have a smoke to pep himself up. He then covered his head, face and hands nicely and resumed his walk. The dog sulked at the prospect of walking again. It was unwilling to leave the fire place. The dog was wiser. It knew the harshness of winter. It knew that it was prudent to wait out the cold, hibernating in a hole. This was the dog's instinct, but it had no option. It had to walk along the man. There was no real rapport between the two. The man never had petted the dog. It was a master slave relationship, not a pet dog and owner bond. Because of this lack of mutual affection, the dog walked on indifferently, not bothering to warn the man of the dangers ahead.
The Man's Lighting Another Fire:
The man walked on. The road was relatively safer with lesser number of the hidden puddles. Sadly for him, he stepped on a hole and tripped. But, he sprang back to his feet with a jerk. The fall made him very angry with himself. It would delay his reaching destination by at least an hour. He had to dry his wet clothes, shoes and stockings. For doing this, he had to light a fire. That meant delay. Cursing his luck, he started to collect twigs and mulch for the fire. He found some of these nearby. He made a pyramid of the twigs. Larger ones were piled at the bottom and smaller ones towards the top. The idea was to ensure that the fire did not sink in when the snow melted. Then, he, very carefully, lighted the fire and kept it burning. Quite meticulously, he fed the twigs to the flame to increase the fire. He knew how important it was to keep the fire going. His feet were wet. To arrange the twigs and feed them to the fire, he had to uncover his hand but that proved to be painful as the bitter cold numbed his hand in no time. As he was seated, his heart struggled to pump blood. He sensed danger. Luckily for him, the fire burned vigorously. He planned to dry his shoes and warm his feet and hands. Surprisingly for him, the fire could not keep his cheeks and fingers from becoming numb again. The cold was winning the war against the fire he had lighted.
Falling of Snow from the Tree on the Burning Fire:
The man had built the fire under a large tree that was laden with snow. When he pulled down some twigs to feed the flame, the heat of the fire melted the burden of ice that had clung to the branches overhead. After a while the huge mass of ice fell down on his fire putting it out in an instant. Gradually, the entire load of ice fell off the branches on his fire place.
His Making A Desperate Attempt to Build A Fire Again:
Desperation and determination gripped his mind alternately. He pulled himself up and began to gather fuel for his fire. His fingers did not work, so he used his palm to collect the twigs, dry grass etc. It was a desperate attempt to beat the cold. Hoping that the fire would be lit, he gathered some thicker twigs for use when the fire got going. The dog sat nearby looking on nonchalantly. With the fuel gathered, he dipped his hand into his pocket to take out a piece of birch bark. He struggled hard to grab a piece with his stiffened fingers and bring it out. He knew every passing second was precious. The feet were beginning to lose sensation. He worked with his arms a few times to break free. His mood was depressed and gloomy. The numbness in his fingers became worse. It began to pain. He bore the worsening pain with fortitude. He managed to take out the Sulphur matches from his pocket. The fingers could not hold on to the matches. The matches fell on the snow. He was devastated but not broken. Summoning all his will power and strength, he scooped the matches from the snow - covered ground. It was some accomplishment, but he continued to feel miserable. Then using his jaws, he separated a single piece of match stick from the bunch, but the stick again fell down on his lap. There was no way he could use his hands to pick it up. He bent down, used his jaws to grab it and rub it on his knee. After nearly twenty attempts, the sparks appeared. While taking the flame to ignite the birch bark, the smoke from the brimstone choked his lungs. As he gasped for breath, the fire fell on the snow and got extinguished.
Man's Trying to Kill the Dog and the Man's State of Panic:
The man thought of killing the dog to thaw his hands in its carcass. But when he approached the dog, it sensed some danger and broke free and escaped to a distance. When the man at last caught the dog, he was unable to kill it; his hands had grown so numb that they were useless. The man looked sideways to ensure his lifeless hands were intact. With a sudden spurt of energy, he began to fling his arms wildly to instil some life into them. But it was of no avail. The man realised that he was losing his battle to stave off death. The end was menacingly near. Panic gripped him. In a feat of frenzy and wild instinct, he began to run up the creek's edge. It was a dash to escape the creeping claws of death. The dog followed him in the sprint. In a short while, he could see timber stacks. Momentarily, he felt a bit better. Optimism seemed to return. He felt he could make to the camp by continuing his run. But, the worry that he could never reach the camp also came to him alternately. He imagined that once in the camp, his friends would nurse him back to health.
Exhausted and drained, he decided to pause for a while. He sat down. Some strange feeling came to him. He felt a bit better and warm. Life seemed to be returning to his body. But, running seemed to be an uphill task. His nose, thumb, fingers were all numb with no sensation. He tried to drive away such depressing thoughts from his mind. He began to run again, but after a short while, began to falter. Drained of all energy, the man stumbled and fell down. The last flicker of optimism was receding fast.
The Man's Surrendering to His Fate:
The man knew that his end was near, but he refused to capitulate. He was determined to stare death in its eyes. He thought of accepting death with dignity. Drowsiness overtook him and he had visions of walking along with his companions and discovering his own frozen body the next day. Then he also heard himself telling the old - timer that he was right about not travelling alone in the brutal cold. The dog maintained a vigil over him. The day was receding and the twilight had descended. The dog was restless seeking a response from the man. But, nothing came. The dog came near the man to smell it. It concluded that there was no life in the body. With darkness approaching fast, it made a dash towards the camp hoping to find some food and respite from the cold.
