Jack London — "To Build a Fire"

Jack London was born in San Francisco (Wilhelm). He lived with a family friend because his mother was very unstable and his father did not want to claim him. London got jobs to earn money for his family at a very young age. He soon trained to be a sailor and signed up to work on a ship going to Siberia. Later, London worked on freight trains and traveled the western United States. While on those trains, London saw how terrible some people's lives were out west, so he decided he wanted to educate himself rather than try and get odd jobs due to his strength. London soon finished high school and college, and then he rushed to the Klondike. He did not find any gold, but from his experiences London wrote "The Call of the Wild" and made big bucks from that novel. He then became a million dollar writer, but he usually spent more money than he was making (Wilhelm).

Jack London's "To Build a Fire" is a great depiction of Naturalism. Naturalism is a subset of Realism that focuses on nature and a human's approach to it (Werlock). Jack London's short story is about a man who tries to survive in Alaska in the winter with his Huskie (London). It is obviously very cold because it is Alaska, and it is in the winter. London's "To Build a Fire" resembles Naturalism a lot because the main character has to battle the elements to stay alive (London). The main character has to make many decisions to keep himself and his dog alive, and, as the title says, he builds a fire, which is a very important thing to have in the Alaskan territory in the middle of winter (London). This short story resembles Naturalism because it deals completely with nature and man's interactions within it which is basically what Naturalism is.

At the beginning of the short story the main character and his dog go out in search of gold in the Alaskan territory which is a lot like what London actually did during his early years (London). The main character does not find any gold, and he soon becomes engulfed in the wilderness. The man starts to become like another animal who is only concerned with surviving (London). This short story has a lot to do with man vs. nature and Darwin's survival of the fittest ideas (Welock). This story definitely illustrates the survival of the fittest idea, but the main character is not competing against any specific person but against himself and nature. The protagonist must fight against his own will and the elements of nature to survive which is a lot of what Naturalism is about.

Nature is a definite main focus of this short story. The main character and his dog are both caught in nature, and they have to try to overcome it to survive (London). Psychology is also present in "To Build a Fire" because the main character has to overcome his own will to survive and to keep going (London). The American Dream is also a part of this short story because the protagonist is in Alaska in search of gold which is most likely a part of the Klondike rush which is definitely a part of the American Dream because a lot of people were moving out west to find gold, and they eventually went to Alaska for gold also.



Works Cited:

London, Jack. From "To Build a Fire." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. . Print.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "naturalism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0501&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 8, 2011).

Wilhelm, Jeffrey. "Meet Jack London." Glencoe Literature. Ed. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature ed. Colombus: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 601. Print.