Lesson Summary
Jack London’s ”To Build a Fire” makes use of only
two characters
to great effect. The dog is a wolf-like husky and is a supporting character who relies on instinct. The man is the main protagonist.
What is the main character like in To Build a Fire?
Character Analysis in To Build a Fire.
The Man
: Naive and unimaginative, the man is the main character of “To Build a Fire.” Though he is an intelligent person, he is too reliant on his erroneous judgment and fails to adequately imagine the perils he faces in the Yukon.
Who is the man in the story To Build a Fire?
In the 1902 version, though the structure and storyline are similar, the weather is not as cold and horrendous, no dog follows the protagonist, the fire is not doused, and the man (named
Tom Vincent
in this version) suffers only from severe frostbite and survives to become a more melancholic but wiser person.
What is the setting of To Build a Fire?
London emphasizes the existential theme in “To Build a Fire” in several ways, the most important of which is his selection of the setting in which the story takes place. The story is set
in the wilderness of the frozen Yukon during the harsh winter months when “there was no sun nor hint of sun” in the sky
(118).
Who were the boys in to build a fire?
“The boys” are how the man refers to
his traveling companions who he’ll meet up with at the end of a day of solo
travel. The boys, who never appear within the space of the story, but who repeatedly appear in the man’s thoughts, function as a symbol, rather than as characters.
Which attribute of the man’s character is revealed in his act of building the fire under the tree?
○ The man in “To Build a Fire”
has great pride in his abilities
. He is arrogant that he is able to survive on his own.
How many characters in the story of an hour?
“The Story of an Hour” Characters
Five characters
make up the cast of “The Story of an Hour”: Louise Mallard. Josephine. Richards.
What is the role of the dog in To Build a Fire?
The dog functions as a symbolic character in the short story, as it is the opposite of the man. He
represents nature and natural instinct for survival
.
Where was the man going in the story To Build a Fire?
The narrator tells us that the man is heading for
a mining camp on Henderson Creek
, where a bunch of his buddies are waiting for him with a nice fire and some tasty bacon. Traveling alongside the man is a native husky, which is closer to a wolf than your average dog.
Why is the men’s beard color amber in To Build a Fire?
What is the man not “quick and alert” in, according to London? … Why is the mans beard colored amber?
His tobacco has run into it
.
What does the man wish he had brought for his cheeks?
What are three mistakes the man makes in To Build a Fire?
What traits or qualities cause him to make these mistakes? He went there in the spring, traveled alone,
he built the fire under snow laying tree, over confident, lack of common sense
, “DOES NOT NO COLD.” The man’s initial mistakes come because he’s prideful and overconfident. In the end, he lacks experience.
Who are the characters in To Build a Fire?
The main characters in “To Build a Fire” are
the unnamed man, his dog, and the old man
. The Man is a chechaquo, or newcomer to the Yukon, who foolishly ventures out in unsafe weather. His arrogance and naivete ultimately lead to his death. The Dog is a wolf-dog who reluctantly accompanies the man on his journey.
How does the man’s attitude change in To Build a Fire?
Throughout the story, the protagonist slowly realizes that he’s in big trouble, and this dawning awareness is reflected in his changing attitude toward the old-timer: “
the old-timer on Sulphur Creek had told him about [freezing feet], and now he was appreciating the advice
” (20).
What is the theme of the story To Build a Fire?
The main themes in “To Build a Fire” are
humans and nature, the cost of masculinity, and the limits of individualism
. Humans versus nature: The man’s attempts to survive in the bitter cold and his dog’s easy abandonment of him illustrate nature’s apathy in response to human suffering.
What’s the summary of To Build a Fire?
“To Build a Fire” by Jack London is a 1908 story about a newcomer to the Yukon who travels through the extreme cold with his dog, despite warnings that it is too dangerous. The man falls through a thin patch of ice.
Knowing that he’ll freeze to death if he doesn’t dry his feet, he tries to build a fire
.
What does the man wish he had brought for his cheeks to build a fire?
But the cold was taking its toll. His cheek and nose became numb. He wished he had brought
someting to cover his cheek and nose
, but he continued to walk defiantly.
Is the characterization of the man in to build a fire direct or indirect Why?
The man in “To Build a Fire” is characterized through a mixture of
direct and indirect characterization
. Most of it is done through indirect characterization, but the narrator does directly tell readers that the man is observant, and he has trouble with imagining beyond threats that are directly in front of him.
Who are the characters in the story?
The characters are
the persons we meet in the story
. A characterization is a description of the characters. The protagonist is the main character, often the hero of the story. The antagonist is the villain or enemy in the story.
How is nature presented in to build a fire?
Throughout the story, the natural world is
presented as unemotional and unaware of the fate of the man
. … This understanding of nature is clearly embodied in the character of the dog that is indifferent to the man and his fate. To the dog, the man is a source of food and protection only, and not a companion.
What does the man value in to build a fire?
As we read through the story, it is clear that the man and dog act
as foils for each other
, with the dog, through its survival, showing that it is better suited to survive the rigours of nature because of the way that it is dominated by instinct.
Who are the 4 main characters in the story of an hour?
- Louise Mallard is a young woman who suffers from a heart condition. …
- Brently Mallard is Louise’s husband, who is presumed dead.
Does Mrs Mallard love her husband?
Key conclusion:
Mrs. Mallard loves her husband but doesn’t love the burden
that comes with her marriage. Love is great but freedom is better.
What is the relationship between the man and dog in to build a fire?
The dog is a “big native husky” and the man’s only companion on the trail. While it depends upon the man for food and for warmth from campfires, the dog is “not concerned in the welfare of the man” and obeys him only to avoid being whipped.
The dog is motivated by instinct
.
How are the man and the dog different in to build a fire?
In, To Build a Fire, the man is shown to be woefully inept at survival and in the end,
is deemed by nature to be unworthy
. The dog, a creature of nature, is used by the author as a ‘foil’ of sorts. He is better able to take care of himself in such situations.
What does the dog’s instinct tell us about the main character?
Q. What does the wolf dog’s “instinct” tell us about the main character?
The man knows how to build a fire. The man probably shouldn’t be traveling in such cold weather.
What happens to the man when he starts his third fire?
What happens to the man when he starts his third fire? …
He starts his own hand on fire
.
Why did the man compel the dog to go before him?
After a few close calls
, the man forces the dog to go on ahead of him. This is another reason the dog is uneasy or nervous. Once again, however, he had a close call; and once, suspecting danger, he compelled the dog to go on in front. … The dog is only motivated by fear of his brutal owner and dependence on him for food.
What is the name for a new comer in the land?
See definition of newcomer on Dictionary.com. nounperson who has just arrived in area.
What happened to the fire in to build a fire?
The climax in this story happens when the man’s fire fails.
He has decided to build his fire under a tree to make pulling branches off the tree to burn easy
. But his decision has backfired, because all that pulling on the branches dislodges a pile of snow.
What was the man Biggest Mistake in To Build a Fire?
The man has made the mistake
of chewing tobacco in temperatures
50 degrees below zero. The man has lost all movement and feeling his is hands. In desperate effort to light the match, he resorts to holding it with his teeth.
Why does the man drop the matches?
Why does the man drop the matches?
He is afraid of using them all up
. He feels they are burning his flesh.
What happens to the dog at the end of the story in to build a fire?
At the end of the story,
once the dog smells death as he approaches the man’s body
, the dog abandons the body to find other humans in the camp. The dog’s relationship with the man is shown to be impersonal and unemotional.
What danger threatens the man and his dog to build a fire?
It puts him in
danger of drowning when he falls through the ice
. Which of the following BEST explains the purpose of the flashbacks to the man’s conversation with the old-timer at Sulphur Creek?
What is the man fearful of as he walks along the trail?
He fears
frostbite
. It will delay him. How many matches does the man light at once?
What did the man do wrong in to build a fire?
What mistake did the man make when he chose the location for his fire?
He placed it under overhanging branches holding snow
. When the snow melted from the fire’s warmth, the water and snow fell on the fire, putting it out.
What is the name of the protagonist in the story of an hour?
Summary. “The Story of an Hour” follows
Louise Mallard
, the protagonist, as she deals with the news that her husband, Brently Mallard, has died.
Is the man in To Build a Fire a miner?
It was seventy-five below zero. The man in London’s story is a
hopeful miner
, one of the many that rushed to the Yukon when gold was discovered there in 1896. He is traveling to meet the “boys” at a cabin on the left fork of Henderson Creek.
Why is the man never named in To Build a Fire?
The man’s greatest deficiency, leading to his death
, is his inability to think about the future consequences of present actions or facts; at the beginning of the story, London describes how the extreme cold does not make the man meditate upon mortality.
