Jack London, an American writer, has written a short story ‘To Build a Fire’ published in 1908. The narrator assumes the third person narration technique by taking the role of a keen distance observer who recounts all the events that unravel in the life of the protagonist and his dog. The author employs a vivid description, symbolism, foreshadowing, litotes, juxtaposition, and other literary devices to communicate the message of his story.
In a concise synopsis, the 1908 version of London’s story consists of a young man who goes to Yukon super-cold terrain accompanied by his dog (London, 465). Before the adventurous journey, he had been advised not to go by two old men, but he did not take heed of their caution because he thought that they were too week to reason well. Before advancing so far into the Yukon the cold became so much, making the man lit the fire so that he can have his lunch (467). With time, as he makes more advancement in the cold winter forest along Yukon River banks, the cold increased because it had dropped below zero (466). Ominously, a massive chunk of snow fell, and it almost hit the man (471). Next, the man fell. The cold was too much to bear, and he decided to lit another fire. He could not make it, and due to hypothermia, he finally died. The story employs a linear plot where events are outlined chronologically.
Characterization takes a juxtaposed literary approach. The protagonist is compared with his dog to create a comparison of character through satire. The fact that the dog is more cautious than the man (474) ridicules the main character’s disobedient to the elders. Through the dog, London introduces the main character’s personality as selfish, rebellious, arrogant, regretful, and unloving. At the verge of his death, he wanted to kill his dog so that he can put his hands inside its split body for warmth, but the dog had sensed danger (475). It contrasts the protagonist’s character with that of his dog by vilifying his personality.
127 our experts are availableright now
Prime themes in London’s story includes adventure and death. The theme of adventure is told through a journey motif where the protagonist explores Yukon wilderness regardless of the cautions he had been given. Several challenges in his journey face the protagonist though he does not succumb to them before he satisfies his curiosity. In the theme of adventure, the author embraces symbolism by using symbols such as a journey to represent life, fire to represent determination and hope, while snow to represent life challenges. Moreover, the theme of death is introduced through three literary approaches. One, the fall of man and the incidence where a man was to be hit by ice creek foreshadows his death. Second, the author uses a litotes to call death a satisfying sleep (477). Third, the irony is used where the man conspires to kill the dog but ends up dying, and the dog survives.
In conclusion, London’s short story is a fable that emphases on the need to heed older people’s advice in life. The death of the protagonist in the climax is a symbolic punishment that shows that advice from elders should be respected. Moreover, it introduces the theme of ‘the power of nature. In life, nature’s power supersedes man’s power. The protagonist competed with nature, and he was defeated, the snow and cold subdued him.
Works Cited
London, Jackson. “To Build a Fire.” The Library of America (1982): Century Magazine, 1908, pp. 462-478.
