To Build a Fire

To Build a Fire Jack London Published in 1908, "To Build a Fire" is one of the twenty-eight stories included in London's Northland Saga. In addition, the Northland Saga comprises four novels, one play, and six nonfiction pieces. "To Build a Fire" is an example of Naturalism. Naturalism was a literary movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that saw actions and events as resulting inevitably from biological or environmental forces. Often these forces were beyond the comprehension or control of the characters subjected to them. Taken to its extreme, Naturalism views all events as mechanically determined by external forces, including decisions made by people. Much of modern fiction, with its emphasis on social conditions leading to particular consequences, is Naturalistic in this sense. Jack London was one of many authors influenced by the philosophy of Naturalism. As You Read: 1. What is the day like? Why does it have this 10. To what is the man’s blood compared? In what way atmosphere? are they similar? 2. What is the man’s limitation? 11. What does the fire symbolize in such cold? 3. What is the man’s errand? 12. What terrible mistake does the man make? 4. In what way is the dog more advanced than the man? 13. What does the man feel is happening? What is his 5. What danger does the man know? reaction? 6. What is the man starting to feel? Whom had he met? 14. What advice did the man fail to heed? What had he been told? 15. What plan does the man devise? 7. What does the dog think should happen? 16. How does the plan proceed? 8. What happens unexpectedly? 17. What does the man begin to realize? 9. What does the man see as the negative consequences of 18. What thoughts fight in his mind? his accident? 19. What are the man’s final thoughts? Recall 1a. What signals warn the man that it is much colder than he estimated? 2a. Why does the man call the dog to him? 3a. Against what does the man lose his battle? Interpret 1b. What responses does the man have toward the cold? What does he think about to motivate himself to continue? 2b. How is the dog wiser than the man? 3b. How will the boys at camp learn of the man's death? Analyze 4a. Identify the mistakes the man makes. Synthesize 4b. Why does the author state that the man's limitation is that he is without imagination? Evaluate 5a. Evaluate the advice of the old-timer of Sulphur Creek.

Understanding Literature Setting. The setting of a literary work is the time and place in which it occurs, together with all the details used to create a sense of a particular time and place. Which details are effective in creating the wintry Yukon setting? In what ways does London's setting reflect his interest in Naturalism?

Plot and Conflict. A plot is a series of events related to a central conflict, or struggle. A conflict is a struggle between two forces in a literary work. The protagonist may struggle against another character, against the forces of nature, against society or social norms, against fate, or against some element within himself or herself. What is the external conflict, or outside force, against which the main character struggles? What events cause the main character's downfall? Is his death inevitable? Why, or why not?