An Analysis of Jack Londons To Build A Fire :: London To Build a Fire Essays

An Analysis of Jack Londons To Build A FireCharles E. may, spring of the article To Build A Fire Physical Fiction and Metaphysical Critics was giving his psychological criticism on the Jack London short story. May was elaborating on the naturalistic behavior of humans versus nature when it comes to survival. Mays article suggests that the promoter in the story did not only produce a psychological discovery but a simple physical discovery that egotism is body only(23). In the story, To Build A Fire, the takeoff rocket has to accept that he was not invincible, but a human with a weakness. The man may have been psychologically apt in his knowledge eye but weak against nature and the physical elements. The protagonist displayed rebelliousness in authority when he laughed (152) at the advice of the Old-Timer on sulphur Creek when he told him how cold it gets in the country. The protagonist felt he had everything under control when he made the first fire to clutch warm in spit e of the numbness of his fingers. The test of egos and wills began to surface when the man was ready to move on and the dog wanted to stay darling the fire. However, just as there was no keen intimacy amid the dog and the man(152) the dog would be the protagonist constant come with until the mans death. The man had to accept that the fire provider had failed(156) when he did not have control of his frozen fingers or the building of the fire. Nature had defeated him. The id in the protagonist wanted to kill the dog to keep himself warm. But the ego along with the mans inability to neither draw nor hold his sheath spit(157) caused him not to be able to kill the dog. The aura of death was prevalent. Realizing that he no longer had dominion over his own body as well as accepting his making a fool of himself(158) he had to accept the inevitable. Not only did he have to accept death, he had to acknowledge that the Old-Timer was right when warning him about traveling alone. Ironically, spot the man was dying, he was angry at the dog because of its natural warmth, instincts that he had, and the survival skills that the dog used.