Lizbeth Martinez

Ms. Nicole Deliz

15 February 2023

American Literature

To Build a Fire

1. How would you categorize the man's frame of mind as he stopped to eat lunch? How would you
describe his assessment of his situation at that stage?

He is overconfident while in an environment that imposed a constant danger on him because of the
intense cold that he could not and did not manage to comprehend.

2. When the dog fell through the ice, the man went to great lengths to help the dog. How did his
compassion for the animal change later in the story?

Did he even have compassion, or did he want to take advantage of the dog? He was ready to sacrifice
the dog if needed from the get-go. So, nothing seems to have changed considering he did so to the dog
again once he was freezing to death due to falling into the lake, too.

3. The man had no problem building the first fire. At this point, did you think they would make it to
camp safely by morning, around noon, or nightfall? What clues support your answer?

It did seem like he would make it because in a place like that, fire is vital as the most viable way to get
through a snow-filled trail without freezing. Though, the pace of the story was slow, leading me to think
he would get there far later than expected…

4. After the man broke through, he cursed at the thought of losing an hour of travel time. Now
how would you describe his assessment of his danger?

Once his plans were set back, it is clear he is filled with frustration. The good thing about this is that he
finally has a sense of how things could go wrong.

5. How would you describe the tone of the narrator? Does the narration foreshadow subsequent
events? How?

The tone of the narrator is serious or dry. They are telling the story as it happens, narrating everything
as it occurs, not really foreshadowing anything.

6. What do you think of the man? Do you regard him as an admirable hero—independent,
resourceful, rugged, and resilient? Do you regard him as a reckless fool—proud, overconfident,
unimaginative, and blind? As something in between? In some other way? Explain.

I would describe him as stubborn, arrogant, and selfish… and independent, too. Well, he was surviving
by himself and supplied the fire, too. However, he did not understand the situation he was in and failed
to accurately assess it when his plan went into shambles. Though, it is clear he underestimated the
danger his journey put him in considering he even went on that expedition.
 7. After the second fire was doused by the tree collapse, the dog began to look quizzically at the
man. How would you describe the bond between the dog and man at this juncture? Did their
feelings toward each other change, and how did they view one another now?

There was never a bond between them… The dog simply relied on him to create the fire and keep him
warm, but he already had a means of survival. It just watches the whole ordeal occur.

8. The man began to panic the second time he tried to build the fire after getting his feet wet, but
then calmed himself. How important would it be not to panic in a survival situation? Put yourself
in the man's position. Would you panic? How would you convince yourself to overcome the
panic to get the fire lit?

The importance of keeping a calm mind is insane, that alone could save one’s life. When something goes
wrong, it is important to be able to properly take in the information and choose actions that lead to the
highest possibility of survival, and panic only lessens this. If I were to put myself in this situation… I
would not be in it because I would be dead by then. But if I were not, my anxiety would lead me to
either a crisis or just supply me with enough adrenaline to run toward the smoke.

9. When the man tried to kill the dog, did you suddenly stop rooting for the man to survive? How
was the dog able to recognize the man's ill intentions?

Definitely… the dog had no intention of hurting the man, at least that was shown. Slowly approaching it
would have given him a better chance? The dog seemed to tell that he had bad intentions by the man’s
frustrated and fearful tone.

10. What happened to the man's body after the first run, compared to the second run, how did
acceptance play the final part in the man's predicament? What was happening as the man
began to feel warm and glowing, and then he began to look down on his own body?

His body stopped shaking and he felt as though the coldness of his body would disappear if he kept
running, but his body gave in, and he collapsed. This fear that drove him to run subsided and he
accepted that this was where he would die. This acceptance led to the numbing of his body to feel warm
rather than inciting more fear in him.

11. When you read the story, at what point did you know the man was doomed? Was it before you
even read the first line, after the final fire was not lit, or at some other point? What did you
think would become of the dog?

You can feel the impending doom when the fire is first put out by the snow. Then I doubted he could
survive any longer when his hands were numbing, and he could not pick anything up… When he had no
matches left, it was clear that he was not going to make it.

12. How would you characterize the main themes of this tale? What concrete evidence do you have
to support your answers?

The man contains the theme of humanity, the dog represents nature, and the matches are our ever-
evolving technologies. The matches running out and no longer being of service to us, leaving us in
disarray because without technology we can do nothing is the prime example of the theme Jack wanted
to portray. Our arrogance and inability to survive in nature because we underestimate the dangers and
feel as though we are above everything. This is clear because the matches were the only thing keeping
him calm, without them, he panicked.

13. What are examples of the dog and the man showing compassion to one another, and what are
examples of them exhibiting disdain for one another?

They never really showed disdain towards one another, however the man at some point envied the dog
as it lay, sitting on the snow and he was struggling to start the fire to warm up. In the same way, they
were never compassionate to one another. The dog was nonchalant towards him, even when he failed
to start the fire, the dog showed no interest in him.

14. Why is it significant that the main character has no name in "To Build a Fire"? How does this
connect to the moral lesson in the story "To Build a Fire" by Jack London?

It is significant that this man has no identity because anyone can identify with him. He is meant to
represent humanity in this moral lesson and thus, not having a specified identity of further establishes
this.

15. In "To Build A Fire," by Jack London, what is the significance of the dog's final movement
towards civilization at the end of the story? What does this suggest about the dog's relationship
to nature? Is instinct driving this movement?

Instinct is what drives this animal, a desire for survival, “if it’s good for me, then all’s good” type of
mindset. The significance of that scene was to show that time will move on and our civilization, once we
are extinct or society is destroyed, will just be a piece of history, but nature is something that will always
be there. This displays the dog’s representation of nature in the story.