Sunday, March 30, 2014

To Build a Fire- Jack London
Rating: ****

“To Build a Fire” is a short story that will keep your eyes glued to the page until you reach the end.

The story consists of a middle age man who struggles against the severe cold of the Yukon as he tries desperately to find his way home. Ignoring the advice of his elders, he attempts to make this journey alone in below 70˚C temperatures which resulted in him falling into a small pond. Without anyone to help him, he was unable to build a fire in order to keep his core body temperature stable. Through his arrogance, the man did not survive the rest of the day and slowly passed away while he laid in a snowbank.

Through the theme of this story, that arrogance will always be your downfall, it forced me to reflect on all the mistakes that I have possibly made as a result of my arrogance. By doing so, I am now able to relate this to my own personal life and hopefully change my perception towards life in general, but more importantly, the outdoors. I now understand that the wilderness is not something to be trifled with and I should respect and follow the advice of the experienced. In addition to having a good moral, the book also taught me other useful tips about how to survive in the outdoors. Advice such as how to start a proper fire with birch bark and also finding the proper location to build your fire, will prove crucial during our upcoming excursions in the outdoors.

“To Build a Fire” kept me interested until the end and in addition taught me valuable life lessons. For that reason, I highly recommend this short story for anyone interested in the outdoors.

London. Jack. “To Build a Fire.” Short Stories: Characters in Conflict. John E. Warriner. United States of America. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc. [p.32-51]. Print

No comments:

Post a Comment