He risks going out to meet his companions at a remote camp many miles away, despite the worrying signs of traveling alone. He eventually perishes along the way, leaving his dog to complete the journey alone. The man had three main causes that led to his death: his stubbornness, his failure to accept weakness and his under- estimation of nature. In this story foreshadowing was used throughout the story.
An example of foreshadowing was when the story states, “Hefty degrees below zero stood for a bite of frost that hurt and that must be guarded against. “This example hints that the cold will be the man’s destiny. Another example was what the old timer told the man. The story displays how the forces Of nature can surprisingly overwhelm even the most confident people, just like the man (protagonist). The first reason that led to his death is his stubbornness, which is a horrible character flaw for the man in the story.
The story quotes, ‘ ‘The trouble with IM was that he was not TABLE to imagine. ” The man’s lack of imagination is a serious flaw because he couldn’t foresee obstacles. In this case, his pride, inexperience, and lack of imagination caused his death. He discards all warnings of the weather that he sees from those with experience. The main character became totally confident that he can and will withstand whatever nature had in store for him. The second main reason of his death is that he had to accept that humans have weaknesses.
The man has to accept that building fires along his journey is not effective. Unfortunately, he found out the hard way because his fingers were unTABLE to withstand the cold. He had to accept that the “fire provider had when he could not use his frozen fingers. Nature had beaten him. The man wanted to kill the dog to keep himself warm but his character along with his inability to “neither draw nor hold his sheath 57) caused him not to be TABLE to kill the dog. Death was prevailing. Realizing that he no longer had control over his own body he had to accept the defeat.
Not only did he have to accept death, he had to acknowledge that the Old-Timer was eight when warning him about traveling alone. It took nearly until his death for him to realize that humans, such as himself, have weaknesses and that he was not superior. The final reason that led to his death is that the man under-estimates the power of nature. In the short story, “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, an inexperienced traveler in the Yukon travels alone with his dog, even though he is advised not to. When he ignores different warnings, nature was sure to defeat man.
The man’s inexperience with traveling in incredibly cold enraptures ruined him from the beginning, but his strong focus under extreme pressure and his keen sense of observation are what allows him to survive as long as he did. He has very alert observing skills and strong focusing abilities. The story states, “He was keenly observant, and he noticed the changes in the creek, the curves and bends and timber-jams, and always he sharply noted where he placed his feet. ” These skills allowed him to tolerate the extreme weather through the Yukon.
Eventually, the old-timers words of wisdom slowly intervenes, and catches up with him in the end. The man’s neglect for nature’s power is his demise during his journey. In conclusion, the story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, has three clear breakdown’s that led to the death of the man. His stubbornness, the fact that he had to accept weakness and the under-estimation of nature all led to the man’s death. If the man would have listened, he could have survived but because he didn’t listen; he lost his life. The story, “To Build a Fire”, shows that the protagonist has to accept that he was not invincible, but a human with a weakness.
