He was sure that he would make it to the camp where the rest of the men were by six o’clock. Later in the story he becomes very persistent to build a fire to save his life. Even though it is so cold and when he removes his gloves to start the fire his fingers becomes so numb that he is unable to strike the matches to start a fire. He tries and tries to start the fire. At one point he begins to
He quickly escapes but realizes that he must take another break to build yet another fire. The climax of the story occurs when he attempts to build a fire to dry up his wet and freezing body. His hands are so damaged by the cold that he cannot move his fingers and he struggles to light a match. After finally lighting the match and starting a small fire, snow that was suspended in the tree branches above is melted by the heat of the flame and the pile of snow falls down onto the fire. The fire is extinguished and the hiker is helpless.
London also presented Darwin’s idea of survival of the fittest in his story. Darwin’s idea implies that those best adapted to particular conditions will succeed in the long run. In relation to “To Build A Fire,” London explains how the man wanders through Alaska, where it is 75 degrees below zero, and eventually fails to make it to his destination. The man back at home had warned him of the dangers of Alaska’s winter, but he had simply laughed it off and casually taken on the challenge. Soon after, though, he was aware of the fact that it was extremely cold and life threatening to travel on the trail at that time.
It does know the cold is dangerous, not to cross the ice for fear of wet, to bite at the ice that forms between its toes, and even knows not to get too close to the fire for fear of singeing itself. The events leading up to the eventual demise of the man, there is a big point in the story that the man fell through the ice and wet himself up to the knee. If he prepared himself in advance, might would have prevented the man’s downfall. The only help he received, was the advice of old man from Sulphur Creek. As the man tried to stop his hands from
This implies the man is improvising, overcoming and adapting to his current situation to get a fire going. He is staying calm, trying to survive and get a fire going. But as luck has it, this cold is too much for his body and he fails at building a fire. Panic is now starting to set in. “This fear quickly became poignant as he realized that is was no longer a mere matter or freezing his fingers and toes...but that it was a matter of life and death with the chances against him” (123).
He was once a newspaper boy but being unable to read he wouldn’t know how to advertise the news. He also went into the match business but he would end up burning all his matches just to survive a cold winter night. As time went on he finally settled in with a shoe shining business. Through Dick’s personality and charm he meets many different people that inspire him and change his life. The earliest person that impacts Dick’s life is a young lad named Frank.
Even with a few minor weaknesses, the book is overall a fantastic read and is a safe recommendation for anyone interested in nonfiction that is riveting. The book begins with the unexpected crushing of The Endurance by the ice pack and a description of the crew scrambling to salvage supplies. The men are quickly forced to abandon the ship and attempt to survive the extreme and harsh climate traversing large ice floes on foot. At this point, “Many of them, it seemed, finally grasped for the first time just how desperate things really were.” (100) The men initially set up a long-term camp called “Ocean Camp,” floating uncontrollably on an ice floe up until the sinking of The Endurance. Next, the men were forced to establish “Patience Camp” where they struggled to survive.
The man just had to accept death after going through different stages before he can come to terms with it. He than becomes depressed and goes into panic, realizing he cannot fight anymore so he just lays back and lets death take him away. In build a fire the internal and external conflicts both get resolved by the main character. The resolution to the conflicts comes when when the man accepts his fate and sits down to die. He tries to survive so he gets up and begins to run only to collapse in exhaustion, and finally, as the dog watches faithfully nearby, numbness fills his freezing body.
“When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.”(Jarrel) This shows the dark side of war which Leper understands is the truth. When he first enlisted in the army he thought war could be fun, clean, and innocent when he film with the American cross country skiing. After joining the army he soon realized that fun does not exist in war and it can make you mad which happened to him by getting a section 8 disband for being crazy. When Leper probably grasp all of the things he would have to do mentally he realized that he could not do it and for that it made him crazy. “Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life” (Jarrel) When going to war a soldier must feel that he or she is six miles from earth and one a distant planet and that right there would make anyone go crazy being pulled out of their everyday life and being pushed in this hell hole called war would be enough for anyone to go crazy and eventually lose their hopes and
The mountains sent back his whistle and his shout, but no dog was to be seen. Rip decided to return to the scene of the last evening’s party. “If I meet any of those men,” he said to himself, “ I’ll demand my dog and gun.” As he stood up to walk, he found that his legs seemed stiffer than usual; he felt pains in his legs and his back. “ These mountain beds are not good for the health,” thought Rip. “ If this adventure puts me to bed sick, I shall hear nothing pleasant from Dame Van