Short stories go down like ice cream, but they often leave the reader with lingering sensations. What are those sensations? What do they have to do with your experience? Is "Literature" with a capital L a more effective brand of cultural meaning-making than commercials, Twitter, or the news?
Hopefully, we'll get the ball rolling on some of these questions. Featured texts describe utopian visions, bovine rebellion, freezing to death, and school shootings (among other things).
“To Build A Fire” by Jack London was a short story which analysis the advantages of listening to advice from elders. Throughout the reading I was finding it difficult to specify the meaning, but that all changed after I read how the old-timer had given the man advice about traveling. As the story progresses the man doesn't take this advice seriously and in the end his ignorance leads to his death. The man’s character is built up as one who has very central thinking, by not worrying about the cold, being alone, food, warmth, and many other important aspects to consider while traveling. His sole focus is instead about, getting to the campsite where the other boys are stationed. I believe the message is in today’s society the elderly are very knowledgeable but not usually taken seriously. Many in the younger generation don’t value the opinion of their elders, which can cause them to endure events with consequences that could have been avoided. This is supported as the old-timer advised the man not to travel alone and be aware of the harsh cold temperature. Unfortunately, the man realized his mistake too late after he had endures the accidents and had dug himself too big of a hole to climb out of. I believe the husky represents, a trusty dog that will stand by his owner not matter the challenges. Even though the narrator portrays the dog as not wanting to continue he still follows orders given by his master. Too often we think we know what’s best, when in reality many of our elders have walked down a similar path and could give advice during difficult situations.
To Build A Fire is a story about a man’s journey through the snow on a freezing cold day to get to camp. Early on we learn the temperature is -75 degrees F. The man begins to show signs early on in the story indicating to the reader that he has never felt this kind of cold before. The reader finds themselves rooting for the man to reach camp throughout the entirety of the story. We find ourselves confused as to why this man, who knows the danger of extreme cold would choose to take a longer path, alone, on such a cold day. The man is used to the cold whether but continuously states throughout the story “it certainly was cold” indicating to the reader that he is becoming extremely scared at his current situation. The story reaches its climax when the man breaks through the ice and his struggle to build a fire begins. As the man tries to remain calm, the readers feelings are the exact opposite. We wonder if the man will make it. We see lot of pressure put on this man to make a fire so that he can dry his feet before extreme freezing sets in. Suddenly he succeeds, but only seconds later he is faced with another obstacle when a pile of snow lands on his freshly built fire. The final outcome of the story is a true tragedy to the reader since we had been rooting for him to make it all along. As the book ends the reader feels defeat and like there could of been something more he could of done. This story demonstrates that not all stories have happy endings and that you must take extreme caution when taking risks.
While reading To Build A Fire by Jack London, the first thing I noticed was the constant mention of how cold it was. The story continuously stated that the temperature was a certain number below freezing point. I found this interesting because in the end that is how the man died. I really liked how descriptive the story was. Whenever talking about how cold it was, London would describe how numb the man was which made it relatable. For example, instead of saying the man was really cold, he said “…he discovered that his hands could not clutch, that there was neither bend nor feeling in the fingers.” I found it relatable that the man kept reassuring himself that when he got to the camp, the boys would take care of him and everything would be okay. I too have been in situations that I say everything will be okay when I finish. I feel a message in this story could perhaps be that no matter how hard life gets, you should never give up. Although the man died from the cold, it shows that it does not hurt to try. The man could have given up so many times but he decided to keep going because the idea that the boys would be there ready to take care of him was just so comforting. All that was on his mind were the boys. As he was dying, he thought about how the boys would find his body the next day. These people must have been very important to him if they were on his mind until the time that he died.
London Jackson’s short story To Build A Fire tells of a journey of a man who never reaches his destination. From the very beginning of the story, the reader can assume that things will not go well for the man on his journey from the setting. In this particular work, the setting plays a huge factor in how the events play out. It sets the mood of the story. By describing the day as “cold and grey” and saying “there was no sun nor hint of sun” the setting sets a very depressing and gloomy mood for the reader. Jackson also uses the element of repetition to stress the temperature of “fifty degrees below zero” indicating that it will have an important role in the story. Throughout the story it is also noted that the man does not appreciate anyone’s knowledge but his own. The dog who with he is travelling, has a natural instinct that makes it clear it is not safe to be travelling in those particular weather conditions. However, the man does not pay attention and carries on with his journey. It is also obvious that he does not appreciate the advice he was once given from the old man at Sulphur Creek. When he was warned not to travel alone, he brushed the advice off and continued to believe that he was strong enough to get through it himself. Although, his optimism is quite helpful in his condition, it was not enough to get him through his struggles. This brings about a very important theme that can be presented from this situation. Many young adults do not appreciate the knowledge of their elders such as their parents, grandparents, or even teachers. They are too naive to trust them and believe that they know better. More often than not, that is not the case. Since the elders have more life experience, they have went through the same problems and are able to give advice on a certain situation. Because the young adults do not accept the advice, it may cause them to get involved in a problematic situation such as the man has in the story. As the story comes to an end, the man visualizes the boys from the camp, finding his body the following day. This vision could represent foreshadowing and his death that was soon to come. Just before the man went into his sleep, he pictured the old man and admitted he was right. He had finally understood the advice he was given in his past.
“To Build A Fire by Jack London tells about the journey that a man and his dog takes through extremely cold weather. The man is determined to get to a camp where there are guys that provide food and warmth through a fire. Through the story the man is aware of the cold temperature because he keeps stating that it is cold. But he seems to have a calm demeanor in the beginning even though his feet and fingers are becoming numb. He is not panicking and when he decides to start a fire he only stays around it for a short period of time. I thought it seemed like the dog had more sense than the man. The dog wanted to stay around the fire instead of venturing out into the cold weather. But the story said that this was the man’s first winter and his ancestors were ignorant of the cold weather. On the contrary the dog’s ancestors knew the fire and so I believed the dog gained his wisdom from those before it. I think the story has a lesson of not being to self-absorbed in getting what we want and making careless decisions. For example, the man initially made a fire that was stable and kept both him and the dog warm. I think he was too determined to get to the camp that he made a poor decision to leave the fire. He wasn’t logically thinking of how quickly the cold was affecting his body.
"To Build A Fire" by Jack London. This story really showed me what can happen when you try to man up and do certain things on your own which ends up leading to disaster. The temperatures were ridiculously cold. Every time the cold started to get to this man a bit, he would take a new chew of his tobacco. I believe that his chewing of the tobacco was his way of trying to be manly. Not only that though the tobacco also was there to remind him that he can do this journey and the old man was wrong about going off on his own. This tobacco chewing which allowed him to press on worked for a while until he reached the creek bed. Once he could hear the thin layer of ice crack beneath his feet, I believe that's when he knew maybe this journey is not so easy. When the dog broke through the ice and his foot dunked in the water; that I believe was a direct foreshadowing of what was to become of this man. I want to even go as far to say that the dog breaking through the ice was a warning for the man to stop make a fire and maybe wait for his comrades to come get him. Unfortunately the man's pride becomes the death of him. After each fire went out, the idea of death really set in. I really felt his hopelessness once the last fire went out because he knocked over the kindling due to his shivering. The way this story was constructed definitely brought me into his world.
“To Build a Fire” by Jack London is about a young man traveling on the Yukon Trail with nothing but some matches, warm clothing, his lunch, and his dog. The setting was a huge part of the story considering that it was in a desolate, freezing part of Alaska that is miles away from civilization. If I were to characterize this man I would say he is both intelligent and arrogant. He is intelligent in terms of his individual survival skills and being able to remain calm while potentially facing certain death. Also, he finds a way to cut off all emotions and focus on what is truly necessary (survival). However, he is arrogant in the choices he made by going out, alone, in sub -50 degree temperatures regardless of what his elders told him. Also, this slightly brings up the topic from last class of tradition and doing things the way your elders suggest. In this case, he didn’t follow tradition, and he died. I completely understand not taking advice and learning from your own mistakes, but he should’ve seriously reconsidered since it was advice on surviving. However, his dog, unknowingly, followed tradition through the evolution of its ancestors. The thing I don’t understand is why the author made no effort to make some kind of connection between the main character and the reader. The character was a cocky man who treated his dog as a tool rather than “man’s best friend.” I was not in the least bit upset or surprised when he died and the only thing I cared about was his dog. I was happy to see that the dog survived.
To Build A Fire is about a man who decides it would be a good idea to take a long, lonely journey in -75 degree F to go see his friends. He was warned and advised by an elder not to do so, but he made another great decision to not listen. In this man's defence everyone makes bad decisions and you learn from them. Although in this characters case he would not live to learn from it. I think it is in human nature to rebel and go against what people say to possibly prove them wrong. Personally if someone tells me I cannot do something, it gives me the drive and the want to do it even more. I believe this is what happened with this character. His pride and want to prove someone wrong got in the way of being realistic and ultimately lead to his own demise. This character wanted to be a man and go travel on foot into the wilderness and be the hero. He wanted to come back and tell his story of his travels and how he survived in -75 degree F weather. He also went through many obstacles and challenges to get as far as he did. The freezing cold weather, falling in water, his fire he built getting ruined and getting frost bite were things he went through to get to where he wanted to go. I think this kind of relates back to how life is. You have to go through obstacles and hardships and work hard in order to get to where you want to be. Nothing comes in easy in life and you get out what you put into it. It may be on a smaller scale than what this character went through but it can be related.
In to Build a fire, it’s a short story about an unknown old man who is traveling through the snow. He ends up in the snow and he is unprepared for the weather . he doesn’t have the proper tools or knowledge to survive the terrible weather. He is accompanied by a dog. Within the story we kind of see his personality trait of the man and also the dog. What I gather from this story is the man is the man not having the survival skills and the tools for survival like the dog has. It was a point where the man couldn’t set the fire properly. As to the dog, , it might seem to be just a dog but it knew better to go toward the man, that the man might eat eat him up , it also knew to stay close to the fire to keep warm. I think this a really cool short story and jack I believe is a good story writer
“To Build A Fire” by Jack London was a short story which analysis the advantages of listening to advice from elders. Throughout the reading I was finding it difficult to specify the meaning, but that all changed after I read how the old-timer had given the man advice about traveling. As the story progresses the man doesn't take this advice seriously and in the end his ignorance leads to his death. The man’s character is built up as one who has very central thinking, by not worrying about the cold, being alone, food, warmth, and many other important aspects to consider while traveling. His sole focus is instead about, getting to the campsite where the other boys are stationed. I believe the message is in today’s society the elderly are very knowledgeable but not usually taken seriously. Many in the younger generation don’t value the opinion of their elders, which can cause them to endure events with consequences that could have been avoided. This is supported as the old-timer advised the man not to travel alone and be aware of the harsh cold temperature. Unfortunately, the man realized his mistake too late after he had endures the accidents and had dug himself too big of a hole to climb out of. I believe the husky represents, a trusty dog that will stand by his owner not matter the challenges. Even though the narrator portrays the dog as not wanting to continue he still follows orders given by his master. Too often we think we know what’s best, when in reality many of our elders have walked down a similar path and could give advice during difficult situations.
ReplyDeleteTo Build A Fire is a story about a man’s journey through the snow on a freezing cold day to get to camp. Early on we learn the temperature is -75 degrees F. The man begins to show signs early on in the story indicating to the reader that he has never felt this kind of cold before. The reader finds themselves rooting for the man to reach camp throughout the entirety of the story. We find ourselves confused as to why this man, who knows the danger of extreme cold would choose to take a longer path, alone, on such a cold day. The man is used to the cold whether but continuously states throughout the story “it certainly was cold” indicating to the reader that he is becoming extremely scared at his current situation. The story reaches its climax when the man breaks through the ice and his struggle to build a fire begins. As the man tries to remain calm, the readers feelings are the exact opposite. We wonder if the man will make it. We see lot of pressure put on this man to make a fire so that he can dry his feet before extreme freezing sets in. Suddenly he succeeds, but only seconds later he is faced with another obstacle when a pile of snow lands on his freshly built fire. The final outcome of the story is a true tragedy to the reader since we had been rooting for him to make it all along. As the book ends the reader feels defeat and like there could of been something more he could of done. This story demonstrates that not all stories have happy endings and that you must take extreme caution when taking risks.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading To Build A Fire by Jack London, the first thing I noticed was the constant mention of how cold it was. The story continuously stated that the temperature was a certain number below freezing point. I found this interesting because in the end that is how the man died. I really liked how descriptive the story was. Whenever talking about how cold it was, London would describe how numb the man was which made it relatable. For example, instead of saying the man was really cold, he said “…he discovered that his hands could not clutch, that there was neither bend nor feeling in the fingers.” I found it relatable that the man kept reassuring himself that when he got to the camp, the boys would take care of him and everything would be okay. I too have been in situations that I say everything will be okay when I finish. I feel a message in this story could perhaps be that no matter how hard life gets, you should never give up. Although the man died from the cold, it shows that it does not hurt to try. The man could have given up so many times but he decided to keep going because the idea that the boys would be there ready to take care of him was just so comforting. All that was on his mind were the boys. As he was dying, he thought about how the boys would find his body the next day. These people must have been very important to him if they were on his mind until the time that he died.
ReplyDeleteLondon Jackson’s short story To Build A Fire tells of a journey of a man who never reaches his destination. From the very beginning of the story, the reader can assume that things will not go well for the man on his journey from the setting. In this particular work, the setting plays a huge factor in how the events play out. It sets the mood of the story. By describing the day as “cold and grey” and saying “there was no sun nor hint of sun” the setting sets a very depressing and gloomy mood for the reader. Jackson also uses the element of repetition to stress the temperature of “fifty degrees below zero” indicating that it will have an important role in the story. Throughout the story it is also noted that the man does not appreciate anyone’s knowledge but his own. The dog who with he is travelling, has a natural instinct that makes it clear it is not safe to be travelling in those particular weather conditions. However, the man does not pay attention and carries on with his journey. It is also obvious that he does not appreciate the advice he was once given from the old man at Sulphur Creek. When he was warned not to travel alone, he brushed the advice off and continued to believe that he was strong enough to get through it himself. Although, his optimism is quite helpful in his condition, it was not enough to get him through his struggles. This brings about a very important theme that can be presented from this situation. Many young adults do not appreciate the knowledge of their elders such as their parents, grandparents, or even teachers. They are too naive to trust them and believe that they know better. More often than not, that is not the case. Since the elders have more life experience, they have went through the same problems and are able to give advice on a certain situation. Because the young adults do not accept the advice, it may cause them to get involved in a problematic situation such as the man has in the story. As the story comes to an end, the man visualizes the boys from the camp, finding his body the following day. This vision could represent foreshadowing and his death that was soon to come. Just before the man went into his sleep, he pictured the old man and admitted he was right. He had finally understood the advice he was given in his past.
ReplyDelete“To Build A Fire by Jack London tells about the journey that a man and his dog takes through extremely cold weather. The man is determined to get to a camp where there are guys that provide food and warmth through a fire. Through the story the man is aware of the cold temperature because he keeps stating that it is cold. But he seems to have a calm demeanor in the beginning even though his feet and fingers are becoming numb. He is not panicking and when he decides to start a fire he only stays around it for a short period of time. I thought it seemed like the dog had more sense than the man. The dog wanted to stay around the fire instead of venturing out into the cold weather. But the story said that this was the man’s first winter and his ancestors were ignorant of the cold weather. On the contrary the dog’s ancestors knew the fire and so I believed the dog gained his wisdom from those before it. I think the story has a lesson of not being to self-absorbed in getting what we want and making careless decisions. For example, the man initially made a fire that was stable and kept both him and the dog warm. I think he was too determined to get to the camp that he made a poor decision to leave the fire. He wasn’t logically thinking of how quickly the cold was affecting his body.
ReplyDelete"To Build A Fire" by Jack London. This story really showed me what can happen when you try to man up and do certain things on your own which ends up leading to disaster. The temperatures were ridiculously cold. Every time the cold started to get to this man a bit, he would take a new chew of his tobacco. I believe that his chewing of the tobacco was his way of trying to be manly. Not only that though the tobacco also was there to remind him that he can do this journey and the old man was wrong about going off on his own. This tobacco chewing which allowed him to press on worked for a while until he reached the creek bed. Once he could hear the thin layer of ice crack beneath his feet, I believe that's when he knew maybe this journey is not so easy. When the dog broke through the ice and his foot dunked in the water; that I believe was a direct foreshadowing of what was to become of this man. I want to even go as far to say that the dog breaking through the ice was a warning for the man to stop make a fire and maybe wait for his comrades to come get him. Unfortunately the man's pride becomes the death of him. After each fire went out, the idea of death really set in. I really felt his hopelessness once the last fire went out because he knocked over the kindling due to his shivering. The way this story was constructed definitely brought me into his world.
ReplyDelete“To Build a Fire” by Jack London is about a young man traveling on the Yukon Trail with nothing but some matches, warm clothing, his lunch, and his dog. The setting was a huge part of the story considering that it was in a desolate, freezing part of Alaska that is miles away from civilization. If I were to characterize this man I would say he is both intelligent and arrogant. He is intelligent in terms of his individual survival skills and being able to remain calm while potentially facing certain death. Also, he finds a way to cut off all emotions and focus on what is truly necessary (survival). However, he is arrogant in the choices he made by going out, alone, in sub -50 degree temperatures regardless of what his elders told him. Also, this slightly brings up the topic from last class of tradition and doing things the way your elders suggest. In this case, he didn’t follow tradition, and he died. I completely understand not taking advice and learning from your own mistakes, but he should’ve seriously reconsidered since it was advice on surviving. However, his dog, unknowingly, followed tradition through the evolution of its ancestors. The thing I don’t understand is why the author made no effort to make some kind of connection between the main character and the reader. The character was a cocky man who treated his dog as a tool rather than “man’s best friend.” I was not in the least bit upset or surprised when he died and the only thing I cared about was his dog. I was happy to see that the dog survived.
ReplyDeleteTo Build A Fire is about a man who decides it would be a good idea to take a long, lonely journey in -75 degree F to go see his friends. He was warned and advised by an elder not to do so, but he made another great decision to not listen. In this man's defence everyone makes bad decisions and you learn from them. Although in this characters case he would not live to learn from it. I think it is in human nature to rebel and go against what people say to possibly prove them wrong. Personally if someone tells me I cannot do something, it gives me the drive and the want to do it even more. I believe this is what happened with this character. His pride and want to prove someone wrong got in the way of being realistic and ultimately lead to his own demise. This character wanted to be a man and go travel on foot into the wilderness and be the hero. He wanted to come back and tell his story of his travels and how he survived in -75 degree F weather. He also went through many obstacles and challenges to get as far as he did. The freezing cold weather, falling in water, his fire he built getting ruined and getting frost bite were things he went through to get to where he wanted to go. I think this kind of relates back to how life is. You have to go through obstacles and hardships and work hard in order to get to where you want to be. Nothing comes in easy in life and you get out what you put into it. It may be on a smaller scale than what this character went through but it can be related.
ReplyDeleteIn to Build a fire, it’s a short story about an unknown old man who is traveling through the snow. He ends up in the snow and he is unprepared for the weather . he doesn’t have the proper tools or knowledge to survive the terrible weather. He is accompanied by a dog. Within the story we kind of see his personality trait of the man and also the dog. What I gather from this story is the man is the man not having the survival skills and the tools for survival like the dog has. It was a point where the man couldn’t set the fire properly. As to the dog, , it might seem to be just a dog but it knew better to go toward the man, that the man might eat eat him up , it also knew to stay close to the fire to keep warm. I think this a really cool short story and jack I believe is a good story writer
ReplyDelete