To Build A Fire

To Build A Fire, written by Jack London is about a man who travels in Yukon, Alaska.  This man is walking with him and his dog.  He is going to meet up with his friends at a place at six o'clock, so he figures that he should get a head start and start walking (London 604).  Just like every other person in this world, he thinks that he can do something that he can not.  He becomes a little cocky when he thinks that he can walk by himself to meet up with his friends.  As a traveler, you should never travel alone especially if you are new and in freezing cold weather.  If you get lost you are basically done for, or if you somehow manage to hurt yourself or get caught in a predicament like this man did.  He was in freezing weather all by himself (London 604-605). 

The man who was “quick and alert in the things in life, but only the things, and not in the significances” learned that there are forces outside of his control (London 604).  This man respected nothing.  He had no respect for his friends who gave him advice as to what to wear.  He thinks that he is better and knows more than this man when he clearly has no idea what he is doing.  Most importantly he has no respect for nature.  Thoreau respected nature to a great extent.  This man did not treat nature very well and in return, he got what he deserved back.  If you treat nature, or really anything badly, you should not expect something good or something that will benefit you in return. 

Thoreau said that in nature, material items are just a bonus if you have them because nature itself can provide you with all the material things that you need.  It can provide you with food, shelter, water, and a lot more (Grant).  Unfortunately this man did not realize what the outdoors provided for him and instead of this he went off and killed his dog for warmth and relied on what he had.

London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.” Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 603-614. Print.

Grant, P. B. "Nature in

Walden." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in

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. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.

http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=&iPin=ETL1134&SingleRecord=True (accessed January

30, 2012).