To Build A Fire by Jack London - Essay Example

To Build a Fire The man, who is the protagonist of the story, ‘To Build A Fire’ by Jack London, encounters biting cold on his way to meet with the boys, and later dies because of his inability to build a fire. The way the man identifies his current condition with that of Mercury is in relation to the way a Winged Mercury, in relation to some of the Roman gods, skimmed across the earth without facing any of the hardship conditions on earth such as the biting cold, which the man was currently experiencing. He likened himself to the Winged Mercury, and hoped he also had wings that would enable him to locomote much faster across the cold in order to reach camp and enjoin his boys much faster. As a Winged Mercury, he would not take long in the cold,, and as such would not require building a fire, hence surviving the biting cold. (London 99). “He seemed to himself to skim along the surface, and to have no connection with the earth. Somehow, he had once seen a Winged Mercury, and he wondered if Mercury felt as he felt when skimming over the earth.” Jack London, To Build a Fire, p.99. The above quote relates to the man’s thoughts of a Winged Mercury as it skimmed across the surface of the earth. According to him, he did not feel any connection to the earth because of the biting cold that had numbed his whole body. He questioned himself whether a Winged Mercury felt as he did when skimming across the earth. Seemingly, a Winged Mercury did not suffer much trouble due to cold in the outskirts of camp because it could fly much faster and thus move through the cold without suffering a lot or facing the risk of death. The Man’s inability to connect with the earth was because of the numbness in his body created by the coldness he was experiencing out in the woods (London 99). This passage on the story enables the author to convey clearly to the readers of the frailty of a man to the extreme conditions of temperature. The man is frail to the changes experienced in temperatures on earth because he can only survive or live within a given limit either cold or heat. A man can comfortably exist in a narrow limit of cold or heat, and outside these set parameters, he risks facing death due to either overheating in hot weather, or freezing in cold weather. He requires certain modulators of temperature while still on earth, inclusive of heat to warm him during the cold, and a cool breeze to cool him during scotching heat. This is quite unlike to other creatures on earth, such as the dog, which was the closest companion to the man. While the man was freezing to death due to the biting cold within his surroundings, the dog was warm and fluffy. The dog was so warm that the man once contemplated killing the dog in order to warm himself in the dog’s carcass (London 98). “The sight of the dog put a wild idea into his head. He remembered the tale of a man, caught in a blizzard, who killed a steer and crawled inside the carcass, and so was saved. He would kill the dog and bury his hands in the warm body until the numbness went out of them, then he would build a fire.” Jack London, To Build a Fire, p.97. The above thought is a quote from the storyline by Jack London on how the man wanted to build a fire. It was clear that the man was a frail creature of temperature because compared to the dog, which was following him through the cold winds on his way to the camp, his body, and hands were to numb for him to light a fire. The man was unable to light a fire because the biting cold had numbed his hands to the extent that he could not hold a match and light a fire. The man even contemplated killing the dog and warming himself in its carcass so that he would eliminate the numbness in his hands, and thus be able to light a fire. However, he was not even able to kill the dog because his hands were equally too numb to capture and slaughter the dog, as he could not even hold a knife (London 98). Another proof of the man’s frailty as a creature of temperature is evident through the effect that the biting cold had on his body while on the way to the camp where the boys were, and where there was hope for warm food and warm surroundings. However, out in the woods and in the cold, the man could not keep his body warm, and as such attempted to build a fire out in the cold. The fire would warm him up and enable him to survive the biting cold that was threatening the life out of his wits. However, the process of making the fire is what transformed his perception of life as he faced one challenge after another in building the fire. The dog watched his master helplessly at his futile attempts to make a fire (London 95). “The man was shocked. It was as if he had just heard his own sentence of death. For a moment, he sat and stared at the spot where the fire had been”. Jack London, To Build a Fire, p.95. The above quote elaborates the disappointment the man suffered when he attempted to make a fire but to avail. As for this occasion, the cold weather went as far as putting off the little fire he managed to light up. This shocking revelation came to him like a death sentence, whereby he felt he just received a sentence to die by cold since he could not light up a fire. Furthermore, he was freezing to his bones to the extent that his entire body went numb. His fingers were too numb to light up another match after the cold winds put out the little fire he had lit, and as such, remained trembling in the biting cold (London 95). The man does not give up easily on his attempts to maintain his body warm. As such, after gathering enough strength, he attempts to keep warm by running towards his destination. He runs with the hopes that the exertion he is making will bring enough warmth to his body, and as such, enable him to remain warm long enough till he reaches the boys while still alive. However, this is another fruitless attempt as the biting numbness had now spread towards his feet. He could not feel his feet, thereby stumbling to the ground, where he decides to take a short rest before moving forward. This is a foul move made by the man as the cold freezes more portions of his entire being while he continues lying flat on the ground (London 100). “Then the man drowsed off into what seemed to him like the most comfortable and satisfying sleep, he had ever known. The dog sat facing him and waiting. The dog was expecting his fire provider to make a fire to warm them instead of lying face down on the snow for such long hours. It was not until the dog comes close to the man that it catches the scent of death, then it brisk away towards the camp in search for another fire provider and food provider”. Jack London, To Build a Fire, p.100. The above quote outlines how the man lost his life at the hands of changing weather temperatures. The man froze to death because his body was not able to withstand the biting cold out in the snow. This proves the statement made beforehand by the author, Jack London that man is a frail creature of temperature. In this case, the man died because he could not manage to make a fire to keep his body warm in the snow. The dog is even a more worthy creature as it manages to survive the cold unlike its master, whose numb and freezing body succumbs to death from the biting cold in the snow (London 100). Work Cited London, Jack. To Build A Fire. Madison, WI: The Creative Company, 2008. Print. London, Jack. To Build A Fire. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2009. Print. Read More