To Build a Fire

In Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire”, I found that in the third paragraph of this story on page 629 was, “The trouble with this man was that he was without imagination.” This quote pretty much unpacks the text for me because of the fact that this leads me to believe his actions are done because he is foolish. He doesn’t take the time to really understand what the Yukon is like or how to even begin to listen on advice given to him about survival.

To explore this quote and connect it to personal events it reminds me of the time that my dad told me I had to get a job or I wouldn’t be able to survive. He told me that in life unexpected things happen and it’s important to have a savings account with money in it. Well this was obvious to me especially because I wanted to go to college. When my brother got this same talk he didn’t listen to a word my dad said, he had his goals all lined up and wasn’t listening to anyone’s advice. This made my dad frustrated and unknowing what to do next. My mom tried to also explain to my brother that money isn’t free and that he would have to get a job to pay for everything he wanted. The thing with my brother though was that he lived simply. He didn’t have to pay for all the things that girls have too (here's a quick video of the expenses between a man and a woman is for just their morning routine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7jfCp8sKOE). He didn’t go out with his friends when they went to places that he would have to pay, other than going out to eat with them for a quick bite before going to a sporting event that he got in for FREE. I ended up getting a job when I was 14 and he got a job when he was 24 (that’s ten whole years difference!). I guess the difference between taking advice, and proving people wrong with what they tell you are completely different. Unfortunately, for this example my brother didn’t regret any of the decisions he made, he believes that it all worked out just the way he wanted it too. My point though, my brother was being foolish by not listening to our parents and believing he could prove them wrong. At one point he did prove them wrong, but one day he might take back a few of his smart comments he made.

“Fifty degrees below zero meant eighty-odd degrees of frost. Such fact impressed him as being cold and uncomfortable, and that was all. It did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, and upon man’s frailty in general able only to live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold; and from there on I did not lead him to conjectural field of immortality and man’s place in the universe.” This also adds to the quote above about how foolish he was without being educated on what he was putting himself into. Why would you go somewhere and not know more about what it’s like or have a feel of what you are about to experience. Then when he can’t light the fire later in the short story and he goes to take the dog’s life for his warmth? I don’t know about you but my dog is more than a dog—she’s like my sister that can’t talk, walks on four legs, and constantly needs to be helped to the bathroom. I find this to be very foolish because he has no idea what the wilderness has to hold, and he should’ve been more prepared.

When looking at a new way to view this, I guess the guy had to use whatever he could to try and save his own life, but he had to do so by being foolish. Maybe he didn’t have the technology we do now to be able to “search the web” and know what to expect. But as a person, I find that I pack for whatever obstacles may come my way. For example, when I go on vacation somewhere warm, I still bring a pair of pants. I may even research what the record cold is there for the duration of the time that I will be going.