To Build A Fire Character Analysis

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Pages: 3

Making life or death decisions is extremely difficult,plus subzero temperatures and hypothermia and it is almost impossible. This is what the man in “To Build a Fire” had to deal with, extreme conditions while making decisions to survive them. The author Jack London refers to the main character as “the man”, which never allows the reader to make a connection with the character since his name is unknown. The man makes many decisions throughout the short story that are motivated by a series of events that occur while he treks through the Yukon. As he pursues his goal to get to the cabin, where he knows safety is, he makes poor uneducated, and unplanned decisions like, ignoring an elder’s advice, overusing his limited resources that lead to him paying the ultimate price. His decisions were all driven by his mindset which involved wanting to be manly, staying warm, achieving his goal, and the effects of hypothermia. …show more content…
As his core temperature cooled down his decisions became more obscured and stupid. He was not thinking clearly and started to panic. His fingers were getting colder and colder and soon enough could not move them. Now all bodily functions were starting to slow. After a failed attempt at starting the fire he decided to use all the matches at once which he believed would do the trick. If he were thinking straight, he would realize that if this doesn’t work he has no matches left and therefore no means of fire. This resulted in a failed attempt and real panic. Everything the man did has a reason for his actions. He was dedicated to making this journey across the Yukon and proving to himself how manly he is. Then after his poor decisions lead to hypothermia his mind was playing games with him. All his decision contributed to him paying the ultimately price and dying all alone in the frozen dark