illustration fo a man in winter clothes lying on the snow under a tree with a dog standing near him

To Build a Fire

by Jack London

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Character Analysis of the Protagonist in "To Build a Fire"

Summary:

In Jack London's "To Build a Fire," the main character is an unnamed man, symbolic of humanity's struggle against nature. He is depicted as overconfident and inexperienced, lacking imagination and dismissing the advice of seasoned individuals. His arrogance leads him to underestimate the Yukon wilderness's dangers, resulting in fatal mistakes like traveling alone in extreme cold and building a fire under a snow-laden tree. Despite his observational skills, his inability to understand nature's significance leads to his demise, emphasizing the harshness of naturalism.

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Describe the main character in "To Build a Fire".

"To Build A Fire" by Jack London employs the natural world of the Yukon in winter.  This is the conflict that the main character faces as he begins his journey to another mining camp.  

The protagonist shows his ignorant inexperience by ignoring the warnings of those more experienced than he.  The old timer warned him not to go  without a partner.  In his arrogance and inexperience, he feels that he can handle whatever comes.

His companion was a large husky dog.  With his many coats of hair and his instincts, the dog wonders why they are out in this weather. 

The temperature was somewhere between 50 -75 degrees below zero.  This made no impression on the man.  To him, the temperature just meant that he would be cold and uncomfortable.

As they two traveled through the white landscape, the man spat.  As soon as it left his mouth, it...

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instantly froze, popped, and surprised the man.  

He was keenly observant of everything around him.  Unfortunately, he was unable to know exactly where to step, but for a while he was able to maintain his footing and not get his feet wet. 

At noon, he sat down to eat.  He tried but the ice muzzle of spit prevented him from taking a bite. Laughing to himself, he realized that he had not built a fire to warm up.  When he got up to build the fire, he discovered that he could not feel his legs or feet. 

He finally gathered the fire wood and built the fire. As he began to walk again, the worst thing that could happen did.  He fell through the ice halfway up to his knees. He would have to rebuild the fire and dry out his feet and boots. 

After some difficulty, he had the fire going again. He knows that if he does not dry out his feet, he will lose them.  Running will only make them freeze more in this kind of temperature. He believes that he is safe because the fire is blazing.  Then tragedy hits.

He had built the fire under a tree.  One of the limbs drops all of its snow on top of the fire, and puts it out.  Realizing how foolish it was to build the fire under the tree, he admits to himself that maybe the old timer knew what he was talking about. 

Hurrying to rebuild the fire, he attempts to gather more firewood. His hands have lost all feeling. He tries to light the first match. He does but drops it into the snow.  Finally, he lights the entire bunch of seventy matches and with no feelings in his hands,drops them into the snow. 

Desperate, he looks at the dog and thinks that if he kills the dog, he could warm himself in the insides of the dog. The dog does not trust the man and refuses to come up to him.  

There was no way that he could kill the dog because he could not hold the knife.  The man sits for a moment trying to calm himself.  He knows that it is likely that he will not survive.  

He could run, but he has no stamina.  

Several times he stumbled, and finally he tottered, crumpled up, and fell.  When he tried to rise, he failed. He must sit and rest, and next time he would merely walk and keep on going.  As he sat and regained his breath, he noted that he was feeling quite warm and comfortable.  Than the man drowsed off...

The dog observes the man and wonders why there is not fire.  He faces the man and waits but there is no reaction from him. The dog whined loudly and crept closer.  He smelled the scent of death.  The dog turns toward the trail and in the direction of the camp and fireproviders. 

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The unnamed newcomer attempting to travel ten miles across Yukon wilderness in temperatures dropping to seventy-five degrees below zero is portrayed as an inexperienced, overconfident man. London illustrates the newcomer's lack of perspective and understanding of the dangerous environment by writing,

The trouble with him was that he was not able to imagine. He was quick and ready in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in their meanings. (2)

The fact that the newcomer is "quick" and "ready" emphasizes that he is rather careless and does not exercise good judgment. The newcomer's dog recognizes the dangerous situation and understands that they should not be traveling in these severe conditions. London once again directly characterizes the newcomer by writing,

He was not much of a thinker. At that moment he had nothing to think about except that he would eat lunch at the stream’s divide and that at six o’clock he would be in camp with the boys. (4)

The fact that newcomer is not much of a thinker reveals that he is in serious danger and foreshadows his fate. The newcomer does not take into consideration the temperature, dangerous natural elements, or distance of the journey. The newcomer's ignorance is a contributing factor that leads to his death. London also writes,

Empty as the man’s mind was of thoughts, he was most observant. (5)

Despite his ignorance and lack of understanding, the newcomer notices small changes in the natural environment and attempts to carefully traverse the frozen path without getting wet. Even though the newcomer is unfamiliar with the Yukon trial, he has some experience dealing with extremely cold temperatures and demonstrates his knowledge by immediately removing the ice from his dog's paws. London writes,

But the man knew these things, having learned them from experience. (6)

In addition to being unimaginative and ignorant, London portrays the newcomer as arrogant. After breaking through the ice and saving himself, London writes,

Well, here he was; he had had the accident; he was alone; and he had saved himself. Those old men were rather womanish, he thought. All a man must do was to keep his head, and he was all right. (9)

The newcomer demonstrates his arrogance by dismissing the advice from the old man on Sulphur Creek regarding the dangers of traveling alone in fifty below zero weather. After initially saving himself and successfully starting a fire, the newcomer arrogantly views the old man as "womanish."

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Who is the protagonist in "To Build a Fire"?

In Jack London's "To Build a Fire," the only two characters are a man and a dog, alone and freezing to death in the Yukon territory. The protagonist is the man, who remains unnamed throughout the story and is given very few individual characteristics. This lack of individuality allows the man to stand as a synecdoche for humanity in general. The antagonist, therefore, is nature, which slowly defeats the man over the course of the story.

The man in the story is an extreme example of the realist or naturalist protagonist. The reader is not informed about his background, his hopes and dreams, his conscience, or his internal struggles. His struggle is simply for survival in a harsh world, and he fails in this struggle.

Although London's protagonist is very different from the often elaborately drawn protagonists of the nineteenth-century fiction which preceded the realist and naturalist movements, he draws the reader's sympathy to him in a different and more generic way, almost as the helpless protagonist of classical tragedy does. His very lack of individual characteristics means that every reader is able to imagine himself or herself suffering in the cold as this man does. Readers are also able to observe the man's arrogance and heedlessness, qualities which lead to his death.

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What are the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the main character in "To Build a Fire"?

There is a great disconnect between his feelings and thoughts. While he is enduring the cold, the wind and the shrinking capacity to feel his own limbs, he is unable to think beyond the repeated recognition that, "it certainly is cold." While the dog, his foil relies upon his instincts to interpret the dangerous situation, the man believes that merely keeping his head will save him. He is relying on an arrogant sense that he can think his way through this cold and indifferent environment.

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The main character's feelings are revealed through the third-person narrator.  Through the narrator's description of the main character's actions, etc., the reader learns about his feelings.  The main character was not well prepared for his journey; he did not dress warmly enough, he did not pack appropriate supplies in case something happened, and he did not pack enough food to eat.  These were some of his biggest mistakes.  Others included building a fire underneath a snow-covered tree and taking his gloves off, for example.  Perhaps his biggest mistake was not letting the dog's instincts lead them both back to camp.  The man insisted the dog obey him despite the dog showing signs of not wanting to do so.  Had he simply followed the dog, he would've been able to save his own life because the dog knew where camp was.  Instead, he ends up dead because of his own ignorance.  In the beginning, he was very calm and was not worried about not making it back to camp.  He was overconfident in his ability to make it there.  As time passes and he realizes he is lost, his feelings change to ones of worry and fret.  By the end, he is in full panic mode and in a last ditch effort, attempts to grab the dog to kill it in order to try to gut it and warm his hands.  When he fails to do this and the dog escapes his grasp, he realizes that he is going to die; his mind has begun to leave him and he gets very sleep and warm, which is a sign of dangerously bad hypothermia. 

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How would you describe the main character in "To Build A Fire"?

One of the major characteristics of the man is his over-confidence, perhaps better described as hubris. London writes that "the trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances." He is repeatedly described as being adept at noticing things and understanding the very direct consequences but not the larger significance of those same things. Early in the story he seems to be confident in his ability to take such a journey in a cold snap because he'd been out in two cold snaps previously. He is unable to figure out that the fact that his spittle is crackling in the air means that it is far colder than anything he'd experienced before.

The man is also skilled in the technical sense. He knows that he has to avoid the springs and he knows how to quickly kindle a fire. But he isn't skilled enough to place the skills he has in context and understand that those skills are simply not enough for the bitter cold he has ventured out in. London writes "this man did not know cold" and compares him to the dog who knows the cold by instinct.

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How is the man characterized in To Build a Fire?

The man in "To Build a Fire" is characterized through a mixture of direct and indirect characterization. Most of it is done through indirect characterization, but the narrator does directly tell readers that the man is observant, and he has trouble with imagining beyond threats that are directly in front of him.

The trouble with him was that he was not able to imagine.

A bit later in the story is when readers get the observant detail.  

Empty as the man’s mind was of thoughts, he was most observant. He noticed the changes in the creek, the curves and the bends. And always he noted where he placed his feet.

The majority of the man's characterization is done through indirect methods. Readers are meant to make inferences about the man based on his actions, thoughts, and words.  For example, the above quote indicates that the man is not only observant, but he is also careful. The sentence doesn't say "careful," but readers can infer that detail about the man based on the fact that he always notes where he is going to place his feet.

Based on another event in the story, I believe that readers could safely say that the man is a mixture of confident, ignorant, stubborn, and even pompous. He is confident in his own abilities to stay alive, which is probably why he ignores the advice to not go out in this current weather. He wants to do things his way regardless of the weather and information at hand. That's why I see stubborn, but perhaps he's also just flat out ignorant about how dangerous the cold can be. This would explain why he believes the old man is being "womanish." That kind of overconfident and condescending attitude is why I think he's pompous.  

He remembered the advice of the old man on Sulphur Creek, and smiled. The man had been very serious when he said that no man should travel alone in that country after 50 below zero. Well, here he was; he had had the accident; he was alone; and he had saved himself. Those old men were rather womanish, he thought.

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What is the writer's view of "the man" in "To Build a Fire"?

The narrator portrays the newcomer as an inexperienced, overconfident man who does not recognize or respect the treacherous environment of the Yukon. At the beginning of the story, the narrator describes the newcomer as a man lacking imagination. The newcomer does not consider the weaknesses of humans or understand how his body will respond to the extreme cold. He is a narrow-minded, ignorant individual and proceeds to travel in temperatures dropping to seventy-five degrees below zero. Despite the fact that his saliva freezes in mid air when he attempts to spit, the newcomer begins his journey and is confident that he will arrive at his friends' camp at roughly six o'clock in the evening.

After walking several miles in the wilderness with his dog, the newcomer stops to eat, and the narrator once again offers an unflattering description of him by saying, "He [the newcomer] was not much of a thinker" (London, 4). London continues to emphasize the newcomer's lack of insight and imagination by writing,

Empty as the man’s mind was of thoughts, he was most observant. (5)

After accidentally breaking through the ice and soaking his feet, the newcomer follows the instructions of the old man at Sulphur Creek. However, the newcomer believes that old men like him are "rather womanish." This comment contributes to the traveler's lack of wisdom and respect. He completely dismisses the old man's concerns and is confident in his ability to survive the treacherous journey.

Unfortunately, the traveler builds a fire underneath a tree to warm his extremities and a massive amount of snow falls onto it. The newcomer begins to panic and struggles to relight the fire, but the extreme cold prevents him from successfully building another one. By dismissing the old man's advice and building a fire underneath a tree with heavy snow on its boughs, the newcomer is portrayed as ignorant, inexperienced, and arrogant. After failing to build an adequate fire, the newcomer panics and begins to run through the wilderness before succumbing to the cold and freezing to death. Overall, the narrator views the newcomer as an overconfident, unimaginative man who is inexperienced and reckless. The traveler pays the ultimate price for his ignorance and dies alone in the wilderness.

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