Introduction
Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” has been greatly considered to be the foremost example of the naturalist movement and the conflict between man and nature. The protagonist of the story is the man who “was a newcomer in the land, a chechaquo, and this was his first winter” and he is the prime tool at the hands of the writer to establish his themes. (London, To Build a Fire). The main character in the story exhibits the most interesting characteristics in an analysis of the man-nature conflict worked out by Jack London and the man’s foolish confidence despite nature’s enormous power is described by the writer in the most convincing manner.
Thus, the story “To Build a Fire” presents the main character, the man, as involved in a fight with the natural powers including the cosmic, human, and bestial forces, foolish and regardless of the experienced people. The various instances of the story very clearly exhibit these characteristic aspects of the protagonist in the novel.
The brief basic plot of the story
The story “To Build a Fire” is indubitably a wonderful narration of man’s fight against the natural forces and hence the characters display the elements of naturalism. The man in the story is presented as fighting against cosmic, human, and bestial forces. He underestimated cosmic powers and he is least worried about the lack of sun or the excess of cold and it turns out to be foolish. “He was used to the lack of sun…Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below–how much colder he did not know. But the temperature did not matter.” ((London. To Build a Fire). Similarly, the man in the story overestimates the human powers.
As one of the studies on the story reveals, “Failing to understand that he, no more than his ancestors, is equipped to deal instinctively with the elements, he ignores the unique human faculty of reason.” (London. To Build a Fire: Biography). That is to say, he discounts the advice given by the old-timer on Sulphur Creek that “after fifty below, a man should travel with a partner,” (London) and by the time he realized the fact of all, he had lost all the sensation of the body. However, the most pitiable fact is that the man catastrophically discards the signals given by his own body persistently, which might make him more mindful of the danger.
The unnamed man in “To Build a Fire” who engages in a nine-hour trek across the Klondike’s ruthless winter landscape has been the most favorite tool at the hands of London to illustrate the exciting theme of his story. Thus, the writer sets the character making the journey alone, except a dog, disregarding the advice of an old-timer and ultimately freezes to death before reaching the destination, following various disasters on the way.
The man in the story, his features, fate, and the end, etc are closely related to the themes of the story and the following comment makes it clear. “The man’s behavior and his ultimate fate highlight the story’s themes of survival in the wilderness, the individual versus nature, and death.” (London. To Build a Fire Study Guide: Themes).
Another major characteristic of the character of the man is that he represents the existentialist quest in every man and no specific name given to the character has a great bearing on this. That is to say, London has not provided the central character any particular name, but simply refers to him as “the man” right through “To Build a Fire” and it has been to powerfully emphasize the theme of existentialism in the story.
“By not naming the character, London has placed him at an even greater distance from the reader within his deadly setting, thus isolating him all the more in a bleak and hostile universe.” (London. The Existential Theme in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”). In ultimate conclusion, it becomes evident that the characteristic features of the man in the story “To Build a Fire” are closely linked to the main themes of the story. The man with his important characteristics becomes the foremost aspect of the story in drawing the everlasting impression on the writing by London.
Works Cited
London, Jack. To Build a Fire. Read Print. 2006. Web.
London, Jack. To Build a Fire: Biography. 1876-1916. Web.
London, Jack. To Build a Fire Study Guide: Themes. Book Rags. 2005-2006. Web.
London, Jack. The Existential Theme in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire.” Lone Star College: North Harris. 2008. Web.