What is the lesson in the story to build a fire by Jack London?
The moral lesson in Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire” is that people should not think they are more powerful than nature. In addition, people should listen to others who have more experience than they do.
What is the meaning of to build a fire?
to rouse to strong feeling or action. He was a well-known self-help guru who could build a fire under anyone to finally take those next steps.
What is the climax in to build a fire?
The climax in this story happens when the man’s fire fails. He has decided to build his fire under a tree to make pulling branches off the tree to burn easy. But his decision has backfired, because all that pulling on the branches dislodges a pile of snow. It comes cascading down, and puts out his fire.
How would you characterize the protagonist of to build a fire?
The Man: Naive and unimaginative, the man is the main character of “To Build a Fire.” Though he is an intelligent person, he is too reliant on his erroneous judgment and fails to adequately imagine the perils he faces in the Yukon.
What is the man’s looking for in to build a fire?
The man’s goal is to reach “the boys,” who are hanging out (and probably partying pretty hard) at the mining camp on Henderson Creek. The man really wants to get there so he’ll have a nice warm fire and some bacon to throw onto his biscuits.
What did the old timer say in to build a fire?
This changing attitude reaches its final stage at the moment of the man’s death, when he thinks about the old-timer and admits that this man was right about not traveling alone in such cold weather. He flat out says, “You were right, old hoss; you were right” and it’s the only dialogue spoken in the entire story (41).
What happens to the third fire in to build a fire?
The man managed to build a third fire, using his remaining 70 matches at once in his frozen hands, but a piece of moss smothered the fire, leaving the man without a way to build another, and leaving him alone to deal with the elements.
Who survives at the end of to build a fire?
By the end of the story, he dies as a result of his arrogance. Through this story, London shows how the man’s demise is due to his humanity and lack of knowledge when entering this journey. Also, he shows that the dog survives because of following its instincts which is something that the man does not pay attention to.
Does the man kill the dog in to build a fire?
The dog senses that something is wrong by the man’s tone of voice and moves away from him. Sitting in the snow, the man manages to call the dog over to him and traps it in his arms. Realizing that he cannot kill the dog—without any feeling in his hands, he cannot wield a knife or strangle the dog—the man frees it.
How does the man treat his dog in to build a fire?
When the dog breaks through, the man builds a fire, eats his lunch, thaws out the dog, and then continues on. The relationship between the man and the dog is not personal, but purely the man using the dog to help himself and the dog staying with him because he can provide fire and warmth.
Why did the man want to kill the dog in to build a fire?
In desperation, he tries to kill his dog so he can cut it open and warm his hands inside its body (We won’t blame you for saying “Ewwwww!”) But without his hands, there’s no way for the man to kill the dog in the first place, and his attempt to give the animal a killer bear hug fails miserably.