Worldview Analysis to “To Build a Fire” (Essay Example)

Plot Summary

Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire” follows a sojourner and his dog who travel through the below-freezing Yukon path. Despite multiple warnings of the danger, the man decides to carry on the journey. The man falls through a thin patch of ice, and hastily works to build a fire, so as to avoid frostbite. Just as the fire started burning, a pile of snow from the tree above diminishes the fire. Due to his frostbite, the man cannot build a new fire, causing the journeyer’s death as his dog is forced to bear witness to this tragedy. 

Worldview Analysis

One aspect of London’s worldview that is evident in his story “To Build a Fire” is his description and perspective of nature. “Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-traveled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland”(London, “To Build a Fire”).  In London’s opening statement alone, the vivid imagery and description of nature is evident. London’s setting in nature is a principal theme throughout the story. Vivid imagery is used to describe the horrid conditions: the severe cold is said to be “Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below” (London, “To Build a Fire”),   darkness and gloominess, “There was no sun nor hint of sun in the sky” (pg. London, “To Build a Fire”), and the vagueness of the path, “The trail was faint” (pg. London, “To Build a Fire” ). These all worked to create an all but survivable condition for a solo traveler. It might appear as if everything displayed in nature throughout the story was for the sole purpose of death, pain, and despair. Throughout the whole story, man is pitted against nature in a fight for survival. This can even be seen when the adventurer attempted to fight and kill his dog as a source of life and warmth. 

Another feature of London’s worldview that is presented in his story “To Build a Fire” is his outlook on death. The plot of “To Build a Fire” is centered around the death of an unknown traveler. London was known to have dwelt on death, and even attempted suicide a couple of times. “His descriptions make it obvious that he spent a great deal of time thinking about the subtleties and progressions of various ways of dying.”  Arthur Calder-Marshall states that London "was always very much in love with death.”  This can be seen in most of London’s work, including “To Build a Fire”. In the story, the turning point and climax occurred at the moment the traveler registered his impending doom. “The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death” (London, “To Build a Fire”). The wanderer’s response when he realizes his inevitable end is described as “A certain fear of death, dull and oppressive, came to him” (London, “To Build a Fire”). Although the thought of death plants a stomach-dropping, fear-inducing response in both the traveler and the readers, the overall worldview in the work concerning death did not hold it in the same regard. Death is seen as a sad yet inevitable, natural part of life. After the man’s death, nothing in nature changed. The frozen tundra remained the same. The stillness of the land had no shock to the death of the man. The wolf returned to his home, carrying on life. Perhaps London romanticized death, viewing it as an escape and a way to return back to the universe. It is clear that “To Build a Fire” centers around death, and thus the results and consequences of death.  

One area of London’s worldview that is evident in his story “To Build a Fire” is his viewpoint of mankind. London tells us the traveler was certainly an intelligent man, as seen when he wrote “He was quick and alert in the things of life,” (London, “To Build a Fire”). However, London criticizes this journeyer for two things: his lack of imagination when it comes to things of nature, and his pride. Throughout the story, London praises the accompanying wolf for his instincts and ability to survive in nature, almost in a way condescending to the man traveling. This is apparent when London wrote, “The dog did not know anything about thermometers.  Possibly in its brain there was no sharp consciousness of a condition of very cold such as was in the man’s brain.  But the brute had its instinct” (London, “To Build a Fire”).  It is evident that London held a pessimistic worldview toward mankind and its downfalls. 

Biblical Response

The short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London certainly contains some truths about mankind that fall in line Biblically, specifically the effects of pride and the limitations of man. London’s story exploits the failures of man, including pride, man’s inability to survive on his own, and even the frailty of the human body in extreme conditions. Man was created in God’s image, as stated in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (KJV). However, when man sinned, so followed death and destruction. The sojourner’s ultimate demise leading to his death was his failure to heed an older man’s wise words and advice for traveling in such extreme cold conditions. “The old-timer on Sulphur Creek was right, he thought in the moment of controlled despair that ensued: after fifty below, a man should travel with a partner”(London, “To Build a Fire”). The Bible reinforces this idea of pride leading to a fatal downfall in Proverbs 16:8, which states “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (KJV.) The tragic death of the man showed London’s correct belief in the mortality of human life. London’s views clearly depicted a correct view of mankind’s pride and impermanence. 

One viewpoint that London held that was inaccurate Biblically was his perspective of nature. London viewed nature in a scornful manner, and in “To Build a Fire” nature was the antagonist to the traveling man. The idea that nature is evil and harsh is not correct according to the Bible. London’s idea is evident when he describes the tundra as, “It was a clear day. However, there seemed to be an indescribable darkness over the face of things,”( London, “To Build a Fire”).  God made the universe and everything in it, in his perfect manner. Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” Genesis 1: 10 tells us that God thought his craftmanship to be good. “And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.” Of course, when sin entered the world, God’s perfect workmanship was no longer flawless, yet it is still intended to display the greatness of God. Because of this, London’s antagonizing viewpoint of nature is not Biblical.

Bibliography

London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.”  In Lost Face, edited by David Price, 47-71. London: 2010. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2429/2429-h/2429-h.htm#page47. 

Free Essays. 2022. Nature and Man in "To Build a Fire" by Jack London - 618 Words. Available at: https://ivypanda.com/essays/jack-londons-to-build-a-fire-essay. Accessed 3 April 2022.// don’t use

Explorenorth.com. 2022. The Life of Jack London as Reflected in his Works. Available at: https://explorenorth.com/library/yafeatures/jack_london.html. Accessed 3 April 2022. 

Mitchell, Lee Clark. “‘Keeping His Head’: Repetition and Responsibility in London’s ‘To Build a Fire.’” Journal of Modern Literature 13, no. 1 (1986): 76–96. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3831433. 

Murray Lundberg, “The Life of Jack London as Reflected in his Works,” ExploreNorth, April 1998,  http://www.explorenorth.com/library/yafeatures/jack_london.html //correct for bibliography.