To build a Fire : by Jack London

Question: The man's rationality proved to be useless against the

Klondike's wilderness whereas the dog's instinct helped him
survive. Discuss with reference to the short story 'To Build a
Fire'.
Answer : 'To Build a Fire' written by Jack London is a story of
an unnamed man and a dog in Klondike region of north western
Canada.
The story moves with the man's movement towards his death as
he vainly attempt to travel across the Yukon trail in temperature
dropping to seventy five degrees below zero.
The dog, an inhabitant of natural surroundings, on the other
hand survives. The story tells that at times human brain and
technology is not as useful as the dog's intuitive, ancestral
understanding of how to stay alive in very cold weather.
The man was calculative. He was a man of reason. At ten
O'clock, he reached Henderson Creek. Since he was covering
four miles an hour, according to his calculations, he would have
reached the forks at half - past twelve. The only thing he gave
importance to was his reasonable calculations. Not for a
second, he was guided by his instinct.
The man was "keenly observant". He noticed the changes in the
creek, the curves and the bends. He was always careful about
where he placed his feet. He knew that there were streams that
" ran along under the snow and on top of the ice of the creek."
He knew "They were traps " as even in the coldest weather
these streams were never frozen .
The man was "without imagination" he underestimated the
nature. The man was a newcomer to the Yukon region, he could
not imagine how dangerous could be a cold weather in Klondike
region.
Without paying heed to the old timer's advice that " no man
must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below" he decided to
travel alone in Yukon wilderness in extremely low temperature.
This did not " lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature
of temperature."
He only consider it as cold - a mere inconvenience. He believed
that harsh Klondike's winter could be easily taken care of by the
use of mittens, ear- flaps, warm moccasins and thick socks.
It was the man's hubris that resulted in his room. He was sure of
his abilities to reach the camp safely in time. He was too proud
of human beings capabilities. He relied on technology and
information gained from others, on logic and on tools ( matches
and knife). This scientific or rational knowledge clouded the
man's instinctual knowledge and gave him confidence that he
can overpower the nature by his capabilities.
Because of this confidence, he ignored the dog's instinctual
knowledge that the weather is too cold to travel safely.
This way the man was presented as separate from nature and
distinct from his biological instinct for survival because he
understand the world scientifically rather than instinctually.
On the other hand the dog was a big native husky dog, who
was more or less a part of natural surroundings. The dog
realised the danger of travelling in tremendous cold.
"Its instinct told it a truer tale than was told to the man by the
man's judgement".
The dog though was a wolf dog, a half wild, thus closer to nature
felt depressed by the cold.
The dog was motivated by instinct. The dog's ancestors were
aware of what harm the cold could do and the dog " had
inherited the knowledge ".
The dog longed for a fire and expected the man to go to the
camp and seek fire.
When the dog fell into a trap he knew what to do. He " made
quick efforts to lick the ice off its legs." and " bite out the ice
that formed between the toes".
When the man wanted to kill it, the dog instinct saved it as a
result, it "sidled away" from the man.
The man tried to use reason to get him past his difficulties but
human rationality proved to be helpless against the Klondike's
"killing landscape".
The story presents the best example for Charles Darwin's theory
of 'Survival of the fittest' which proposes the idea that a species
best adapted to its environment will be more likely survive than
another species that is not so well adapted.
The man was efficient, stronger, presumably smarter than the
dog, yet the man was afflicted with hubris and thus he failed to
overcome nature.
The man and the dog both were required to battle nature to
succeed but nature in the form of extreme cold defeated the man
and he slowly froze to death.
The man could not survive without fire the dog could. The dog
was much closer to its ancestral way of being than the man was.
It appreciated technology like fire, but it was not a necessity for
its survival.
The man had lost the instinct that sustained the dog in Yukon
region. The man " felt a great surge of envy" on seeing the
creature that was warm and secure in its natural covering. The
man was not fit to survive in the cold, but the dog who seemed
to be a lower animal, could stay alive.
When the man met his end, the dog was concerned about its
own survival. As soon as the dog sensed death, it moved in the
direction of the camp where it would be given food and shelter.
Its instinct were more powerful than the man's intelligence in
that setting and indeed the dog was the fittest to survive
Question: Discuss Jack London's short story " To Build a Fire "
as a struggle for survival in a harsh environment by a man, who
was ignorant of the frailty of human beings.
Answer: In Jack London's 'To build a Fire' the main theme is the
struggle for survival in harsh environment by a man. The man
was travelling alone,except for his dog, a native, husky wolf-
dog. The man was a newcomer to the region, he had no idea
how cold it really might be in Klondike wilderness. Even his dog
knew that it was too cold to be travelling. The theme revolves
around the newcomer's experiences and his struggle for survival
in the extremely cold weather.
The man was a newcomer 'a chechaquo' who was without
imagination how cold it really might be in winters in Yukon
territory of Klondike region.
" He was quick and alert in things of life but only in the things
and not in significance. " He could not even figure out the
coldness as he estimated seventy five below zero as fifty five
below zero.
This much cold did not bother him to contemplate about the life
and death. He only considered it as cold - a mere
inconvenience. He believed that harsh Klondike winter could be
easily taken care of by the use of mittens, ear - flaps, warm
moccasins and thick socks.
The man was startled to see his spittle crackled in air. " He
knew that at fifty below below spittle crackled on the snow , but
this spittle had crackled in the air ."
He realised that it was much colder than fifty below. But he
was determined to reach his destination in time, the temperature
did not matter. It did not discouraged him, " He was bound for
the old claim on the left fork of Henderson Creek, where the
boys were already. "
The man was adventurous as he was willing to take risks. At the
same time he was too proud to pay the heed on the advice of an
old timer that " no man must travel alone in the Klondike after
fifty below. "
He considered it rather womanish and undertook a journey
alone in the brutal cold and "travelled light" without a trail mate.
The man was too proud of human being's capabilities. At one
moment he was regretful that he was not wearing a nose- strap
to prevent his cheeks from frost bite. But the very next
moment , for him frosted cheeks were just painful, " that was all;
they were never serious. "
From the beginning it was made clear that the nature was
against the man's chances of survival. Though the man did not
meditate upon his physical frailty as a creature of temperature .
It was so cold that his nose and cheek bones were numb, the
juice that was being expelled from his mouth on chewing
tobacco was instantly freezing , his fingers went numb when he
unbuttoned his jacket and shirt to take out his lunch.
For the first time he became frightened at the intensity of the
freezing weather. He thought of the man of Sulphur Creek' who
told him how cold it sometimes got in this country . Knowing
that numbness preceeds hypothermia he planned to build a fire
"and thaw out " before trying to eat.
It was his first step to struggle against the bitter cold.
Even his dog knew how cold it was. "The dog had learned fire
and it wanted fire." It knew " it was no time for travel." and
expected the man to go to the camp and seek fire.
But the man ignored the animal instinct and continued his
journey much to the dog's disappointment as it longed to remain
by the fire.
Although the man was 'keenly observant' about the springs
under the snow which might be traps for one, he became less
aware of his surroundings and stepped into a hidden spring
which wet him halfway to the knees.
"He was angry and cursed his luck aloud" not because he was
frightened for his life but because this would delay him an hour,
for he would have to build a fire and dry out his foot gear. He
built another fire. His fire was a success and he was safe.
 This time his hubris made him to conclude that any man can
travel alone as long as he keeps his head. He was sure of his
abilities to reach the camp safely in time. But the nature is much
more powerful than man can ever think.
As soon as the man started to untie his moccasins to dry his
feet, the tree under which he had built the fire blotted out the
fire.
" The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard
his own sentence of death."
Then, his chances for survival became slim. He had to face the
harshness of nature as a lone individual. The man decided to
rebuild the fire in the open space. He gathered dry grasses and
tiny sticks. When the time came to light the matches his lifeless
fingers could not hold them and the whole pack fell in the snow.
He somehow lit the matches but burnt himself badly in this
process.
The man changed his goal from reaching the camp, to warding
off frostbite, to merely staying alive.
The man even thought of killing the dog to thaw his hands in
its carcass, but when he approached the dog it instinctively
recoiled and backed away.
He finally realised that it was no longer a mere matter of
freezing his finger and toes, or of losing his hands or feet but that
" it was a matter of life and death with the chances against him."
The fear of death made him lose control of himself and in
frenzy he began to run along the creek bed. He ran frantically,
hoping to regain the feeling in his feet and to reach the camp,
but he failed to do so.
 He finally resigned to his fate. He thought of accepting death
with dignity and slipped into frozen sleep and died.
The question of his survival in this bitter cold was based on
his ability to build
Question: a fire. Only the fire could give him the life. He was too
proud to the advice of old timer at Sulphur Creek'. Had he
listened to the advice and travelled with a trail mate, he
wouldn't have died of extreme cold. His vain belief that a man
could do anything if he keeps his head, shattered with his failure
to build a third fire for himself.

why do you think that the man in Jack London's short story 'To
Build a Fire ' despite being bold, intelligent and adventurous lost
the battle against nature?
Answer: The man lost his battle against nature because of
several reasons like he was a newcomer, his lack of imagination,
lack of experience and most importantly due to his hubris or his
overconfidence and arrogance towards the nature.
The man was a newcomer in the Yukon territory, "a
chechaquo" and it was his first winter there. He was unknown to
the harshness of winter in Klondike region. The author days
about him as " he was without imagination". Although he was
quick and alert in the the things of life but not in significances.
The man decided to travel alone through the hostile
environment of the Yukon trail in temperature seventy five
degrees below zero which was estimated by him as fifty five
degrees below zero. His only companion was a husky , native
wolf dog. This fact didn't " lead him to meditate upon his frailty
as a creature of temperature". He was indifferent of the fact that
man can only live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold.
He was unprepared for the harsh weather that he was
encountering. He had no idea how cold it really was in the
Klondike region but his dog knew it is too cold to be traveling.
He only considered it as cold - a mere inconvenience. The man
was indifferent towards nature's ability to overpower him. He
believed that that the harsh Klondike winter could be easily
taken care by use of mittens,ear flaps, warm moccasins and
thick socks. The man lacked imagination as he did not imagine
the brutal cold being fatal.
It was the man's pride or hubris that allowed him to begin his
dangerous journey, prevented him from turning back when he
realised how cold it was and ultimately leads to his death.
During his trek, the man was confronted again and again by
his weakness as a lone individual against the formidable power
of nature in the form of brutal cold. Each time he removed his
gloves, the man was surprised at how quickly his fingers were
numbed. He was startled at how fast his nose and cheeks froze
and he was amazed when his " spittle had crackled in the air" .
It was his hubris that the man did not pat any heed to the
advice of an old timer that " no man must travel alone in the
Klondike after fifty below" . But he made fun of the advice by
calling him "rather womanish".
He was too proud of human beings capabilities as he thought"
any man who was a man could travel alone".
There is a degree of strength and safety in community. When
his fire was extinguished he thinks " if he had only had a trail
mate he would have been in no danger now, the trail mate could
have built the fire." A lone person is at a marked disadvantage.
The lack of instinct is another cause of his death. The man
was knowledgeable, he exercised intellectual properties ore than
instinctive ones. He used complicated tools(matches) to build a
fire , he could find the degree of coldness through thermometer
and find the location on map but the dog is pure instinct. It
doesn't know matches, maps or thermometer but it uses it's
instinct to survive in that harsh weather. It remain warm
through its fur coat, it has an innate understanding of the cold
and it's danger and he knew that " it was no time for traveling".
It longed for a fire and expected the man to go to the camp and
seek fire.
In Yukon instinct is far superior to intellect. The man's
intellect backfires on him . His ability to light the matches with
his numb fingers suffers in the extreme cold, resulted in his
failure to build a fire for his survival.
When the man wanted to kill the dog , the dog's instinct
saved it as a result it " sidled away" from the man.
After the dog realised the man was dead, it "trotted up the
trail in the direction of the camp he knew". It's instinct led it to
the "other food provider and fire providers."

Question: How is Jack London's story 'To build a Fire' an

adventurous fiction?
Answer: Adventure fiction refers to fiction that usually present
danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement.
 In adventure fiction, action is the key element , overshadowing
the character, theme, and setting. The conflict in an adventure
fiction is an action packed, fast- paced, plot in which a
protagonist has to complete a quest or task in a short period of
time which is having a thrilling climax.
'To build a Fire' can be read as an adventure fiction as the
protagonist is in constant threat of being overpowered by the
wilderness.
Man's spirit of Adventure
The unnamed protagonist of the story was filled with
adventurous spirit. In spite of knowing the risks in involved, he
started a nine hour long exciting journey through Yukon
wilderness without a trail mate.
The man was a newcomer, "a chechaquo", who was
unfamiliar with Klondike's harsh winter landscape. He was
inexperienced as well as without imagination. He could not even
figure out the coldness as he estimated seventy five below zero
as fifty five below zero. This much low temperature did not
bother him to contemplate about life and death. He only
considered it as cold - a mere inconvenience.
He believed that harsh Klondike's winter could be easily
taken care of by the use of mittens, ear - flaps, warm moccasins,
and thick socks.
The man was so taken over by his sense of adventure that he
did not pay any heed on the advice of an old timer that, " no
man must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below. "
 He made fun of this advice by calling it " rather womanish "
and undertook the challenging journey alone, except for a dog
and was
"travelling light" on foot rather then by sled and carrying only
abacon sandwich, tobacco, matches and some birch bark.
From the beginning it was made clear that the nature was
against the man's chance of survival. Though the man did not
meditate upon his physical frailty as a creature of
temperature ,he was startled when his "spittle had crackled in
the air " before it even hit the snow.
During his trek, the man was confronted again and again by
his weakness as a lone individual against the formidable power
of the brutal cold. Each time he removed his gloves, the man
was surprised at how fast his nose and cheeks froze, the juice
that was being expelled from his mouth on chewing tobacco was
instantly freezing, his fingers went numb when he unbuttoned
his jacket and shirt to take out his lunch. It was in such a deadly
cold that the man's adventurous spirit was at peak .
Man's Thrilling Experiences
The man had several thrilling experience while he journey ed
through Yukon wilderness. He walked over the trail of snow and
"plunged in among the big spruce trees."
He observed and noticed the changes in creeks, the curves
and bends and was cautious of the hidden streams under snow.
"They were traps. They hid pools of water under the snow that
might be three inches deep, or three feet. "
 He experienced numbness and excruciating pain in hands.
Besides wetting himself to the knees, building a fire for the
second time and seeing it die.
"It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death. "
These all were thrilling experiences which made his journey
adventurous though these experiences also forced him to accept
his fate and to die with dignity.
Thus, many of Jack London's stories were published in
adventure magazines and were written to satisfy a reading
public that was fascinated by tales of daring exploits.

Question : Do you agree with the title of Jack London's short

story ' To Build a Fire'? Give reasons to justify your choice.
Answer : The title of the story 'To Build a Fire' is appropriate as
it was only a roaring fire that could have saved the man from the
trembling cold. The story is set in the wilderness of the frozen
Yukon river, in Klondike region , during the harsh winter months
when "there was no sun nor hint of sun" in the sky.
In this type of region the life and death of a man depends on
his ability to build a Fire. The story is structured around building
of fires. The first is for convenience and the last is essential for
survival.
The man was a newcomer in the land a "chechaquo"
although he was "quick and alert in the things of life , but only
in the things, and not in the significance." He had knowledge
but "he was without imagination" .
 He knew it was cold but he could not imagine how much cold
he could bear. This " did not lead him to meditate upon his
frailty as a creature of temperature."
He was indifferent to the fact that man can only live within
certain narrow limits of heat and cold.
Travelling alone at temperature of seventy- five degrees
below zero, the man could have survived only by building a fire.
Not only the man, but also the dog was aware of the importance
of fire in Klondike's harsh weather conditions . The dog seemed
to " question eagerly every unwonted movement of the man as if
expecting him to go into camp or to seek shelter somewhere and
build a fire, the dog had learned fire and it wanted fire."
At half past twelve the man stopped to eat his lunch , soon
he realized that his feet went numb almost as soon as he sat still,
his nose and cheeks were already frozen , a fact that finally
began to frighten him. It was then that he build the fire for the
first time and for that moment, the " cold of space was
outwitted". The man after eating lunch continued his journey.
This disappointed the dog as if longed to remain near the fire.
Soon after resuming the trek, the man fell into an icy spring.
This angered him as he would have to build a fire to dry himself
and all this would delay him by an hour. He knew it was
imperative and he worked methodically. He collected dry
leaves, branches, twigs, fire woods, sticks and with the help of a
match he got the flame successfully. The man " worked slowly
and carefully" because he was aware of his danger and there
must be no failure. He knew " when it is seventy five below zero,
a man must not fail in his first attempt to build a fire that is if his
feet are wet."
 He build a fire " snapping and cracking and promising life
with every dancing flame". But it was momentary the
"treacherous tree" under which he had built the fire , blotted out
the fire.
" The man was shocked . It was as though he had just heard
his own sentence of death."
His confidence, that he would survive the harsh Klondike's
winter, did not serve him.
His attempt to build a third fire failed. He panicked. He
realised the importance of a trail mate who would have built a
fire for him under such circumstances. It was in desperate
attempt to build the fire for the third time that he burned his
flesh and the blazing matches fell into the snow.
Falling to build fire again he ran about frantically to restore
some warmth. But soon he realised it's ineffectiveness and
resigned to its fate.
Unable to build a third fire in the brutal cold, the man slipped
into frozen sleep and died.
Thus building a fire was important for his survival and he
perished when he failed to do so.

Question: The central theme of the short story,'To Build a Fire'

concern the struggle of man versus nature. Discuss.
Answer: One of the themes of the story is the conflict between
Man and Nature, where the man initially underestimates the
power of nature, while by the end the nature overpowers the
man, his reasons and his arrogance.
Man Underestimating Nature
The unnamed man in the story was a newcomer in
Yukon territory and decided to travel alone across the area
despite knowing the extreme weather conditions there.
The author presents the cold weather as
"Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray......."
and also
" a subtle gloom that made the day dark and that was due to
the absence of sun. "
In Yukon region, the earth was " hidden under three feet of ice.
On top of this ice were as many feet of snow."
The man was travelling on foot to join his companions at an
old mining camp on a distant fork of Henderson Creek. The
man's only companion in his journey was a dog, a big native
husky wolf - dog.
The man was not only a newcomer, who was unfamiliar with
Klondike's harsh winter landscape but was "without
imagination" also. Unaware of the fact that fifty degrees below
zero meant eighty odd degrees of frost, the man undertook the
challenging journey alone, except for a dog and was "travelling
light" on foot rather than by sled. This didnot " lead him to
meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature. " He was
indifferent to the fact that man can only live within certain
narrow limits of heat and cold.
It was tremendous cold as his spittle crackled in the air. He
knew that " at fifty below spittle crackled on the snow, but this
spittle had crackled in the air." Undoubtedly it was colder than
fifty below actually it was seventy five degree below zero.
The man assumed he would overpower the nature. He
believed that this brutal cold would be easily taken care of by
the use of mittens, ear- flaps, warm moccasins and socks.
During his trek, the man was confronted again and again by
his weakness as a lone individual against the formidable power
of nature in the form of the brutal cold. Each time the man
removed his mittens, he was surprised to find his fingers
freezing instantly. He was also startled at how fast his nose and
cheeks froze. When the man stopped for lunch,his feet went
numb almost as soon as he sat still,he wondered whether the
toes were warm or numb, a fact that finally began to frighten
him.
In spite of all odds the man was determined to reach his
destination in time. He underestimated the power of nature and
did not pay any heed to 'the old timer of Sulphur Creek' who
warned him about the danger of venturing into those areas
alone.
The man was "keenly observant", he was very careful about
the streams under the ice that never freeze. He used his
intelligence and alertness to avoid these traps on the way.
At half past twelve, he reached at the forks of the Creeks, he
lit a fire to get some warmth and had his lunch sitting on a snow
covered log.
After half an hour of resuming his trek, the man broke
through the ice and got himself wet halfway to the knees. " He
was angry, and cursed his luck aloud" As this would delay him
an hour for " he would have to build a fire and dry out his
foot-gear. "
This was imperative at such a low temperature. But he was
confident in his ability to travel alone in that area.
When he built the fire for the second time successfully to dry
him out, he made fun of the old timer's advice that " no man
must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below". He called it
womanish advice.
Nature overpowering the man's Arrogance
The story depicts that how nature has the ability to
overpower man - the brutal, intense cold killed the man but the
four footed brute, who displayed his instinct and wisdom
survived.
The man was too proud of his abilities that he did not pay
any attention to the old timer's advice. But the nature is much
more powerful than man can ever think and it was then that the
"treacherous tree" under which he lit the fire blotted out the fire.
Now he realised that he should have journey with a trail mate.
The man tried to build the fire again but failed miserably.
His numb fingers could not help him any more. Though he got
hold of the matches, he could not light them. He was mentally
down by then and let the matches fall into the snow.
He became fearful as "he realized that it was no longer a mere
matter of freezing his fingers and toes,......but that it was a
matter of life and death with the chances against him".
The man panicked , ran about the Yukon wilderness, he
could not warm himself
 " He ran blindly, without intention , in fear such as he had
never known in his life."
Thus he resigned himself to fatal nature.
Therefore, it can be said that the story's main concern is
the struggle between man and nature.