To Build a Fire is a short story by Jack London. Originally published as “The Strength of the Strong” in 1907, To Build a Fire tells the tale of one man’s struggle to stay alive in subzero temperatures without proper preparation and equipment. Having traveled alone into the Alaskan wilderness with only his dog and a borrowed set of skis, the story’s protagonist comes face-to-face with nature’s harshest elements without the means to overcome them. After attempting to build a fire, he realizes that his life is in danger, but that if he can keep himself warm for only a few hours, there will be enough time to find help before frostbite sets in and kills him.
The events take place north of Klondike River where it results in Yukon Territory near Bennet Lake which is north of Sixty Mile River. To Build A Fire takes place North of Dawson City during winter at around eighteen degree below zero Fahrenheit or negative twenty degrees Celsius. The two main characters are an unnamed man commonly referred to as the “man” and his unnamed dog. The man’s age, profession, and origins are never addressed in the short story To Build a Fire.
To Build a Fire” is about man versus nature in the frozen Yukon, Canada area during the early 1900s. To build a fire is an adventure of danger and how to overcome it with knowledge, experience, and hope. To build a fire is an example of what literature should be about; learning from others mistakes or triumphs. To build a fire shows all three of these elements clearly giving its strong sense of reality to help better understand mankind’s place on earth. To build a fire gives the reader great insight into the characters thoughts and actions through symbolism used throughout the story which makes it interesting as well as educational for reading enjoyment purposes or for school purposes.
To build a fire is also used in school curriculum to help teach students about symbolism, themes, and settings. To build a fire has won many awards because of its ability to demonstrate humanity during the early 1900s with danger and hope within the frozen Yukon territory. To Build A Fire was adapted into film in 1967 by Tucker Fleming. To Build A Fire is also known as To Build A Fire (1967) or To Build A Fire (Tucker Fleming).
The short story has been adapted in different forms, including an animated film, To Build a Fire (1938). The protagonist of the novel is named by several names throughout the story. To begin with he is called “the man” or “the traveller” until his identity is revealed later on. He then becomes known as “Mackenzie”, after being so-called by an old timer earlier in the text. The old timer tells him there are two temperatures in this place: forty-below and forty-above.
Once you step over that imaginary line drawn across the land, inside it is forty below, while outside it is forty above. To build a fire means to take many factors into account, but the man fails to heed the old timer’s advice. The story takes on an almost mystical nature as he begins his journey into this frozen land. To build a fire is not just about starting one; it is about facing the elements and attaining victory over them by conquering this natural enemy. To build a fire requires knowledge of how to start one under adverse conditions without matches.
To survive in the Yukon during winter you either need experience or someone who can guide you through it like so many hapless tourists before you (notable examples include Jonathan Swift Somers III in Garry Trudeau’s comic strip “Doonesbury,” Evel Knievel, and Teddy Ballgame). To build a fire is to be determined, to have a strong will and fight against the odds. To build a fire requires endurance and willpower of the highest caliber, which is what the man lacked.
Snow had been falling for seventeen days, and was now heaped in drifts above the level of his knees. To make matters worse it was still snowing, the flakes coming down with quiet stealthiness in straight-line flight. To build a fire required first finding some dry wood beneath a thick enough layer of snow that had not yet been saturated from precipitation above. To find this wood would require hours of searching through dangerous terrain as he trudged on along the trail left by those who preceded him during better conditions.
To build a fire one must find wood with not too much snow on it, or else he would only smother the flame. To build a fire requires diligence and attention to detail because one small oversight can be enough to eradicate your chances of success. To build a fire is as much about what you leave behind as what you take with you because everything has its place if one wants to survive in this frozen wasteland. To build a fire also means having your gear all accounted for and not losing anything along the way that might be necessary later on.
To build a fire means knowing where and how far away from town you are so that someone knows where to look when they fail to find you at your destination after several hours of wondering aimlessly through the blizzard. To bring matches is to be prepared, but the man is already lacking in preparation by venturing out on his own. To build a fire also means having an adequate source of heat for cooking food, shelter from the elements, and fortification against hungry predators who would otherwise feast upon you if left to perish naturally.
