Short Story Analysis
To Build A Fire – Jack London
Name: Niels van Gastel
Class: V4B
Teacher: Mr. Schouten
1
Content
Content.................................................................................................................................................2
Basic information................................................................................................................................3
Characters...........................................................................................................................................3
Point of view and setting....................................................................................................................4
Theme..................................................................................................................................................4
Plot........................................................................................................................................................4
Personal Appreciation........................................................................................................................5
2
Basic information
The book is called To Build a Fire. It was written by Jack London in 1908.
The title “To Build a Fire” has probably been chosen by the author, because in the
story the protagonist has tried a couple of times to make a fire to survive the cold in
the Yukon.
Characters
The protagonist is an unknown man who was walking in the Yukon. I think he is a flat
character because the only information we get that he is an American and very
inexperienced in the extremely weather from Canada. Because the story says: “He
was a newcomer in the land, a chechaquo, and this was his first winter.”
The second character is a native dog who was following the unknown man to a place
with fire. I think the dog is also a flat character because the dog is not well described.
The only thing in the story mentioned is: “a big, native husky.”
Another character is “The old-timer”. The protagonist remembered the advice of this
old-timer who warned him against traveling alone in the Yukon when the temperature
is lower than fifty degrees below. I think this is also a flat character because this is
the only part of the story where he is mentioned.
The last character is “the boys”. The protagonist was walking in the Yukon to meet
these boys, but the narrator never tells who they are. So, they are also flat
characters.
3
Point of view and setting
It was written in a third person point of view with a limited omniscient narrator. That
means that the narrator stands outside of the story and tells what is happening from
everyone’s perspective. He says: “the man “, “he”, “the dog” and “it”.
I could not find anything about the social setting. That is because little is mentioned
about the characters.
The story took place during the winter in Yukon, that is an area in Canada. The
winters are very though there. During the story, the temperature there is 75 degrees
below.
The story lasted a whole day that started from 9am until he died.
Theme
I think the theme of the book is the man vs the dog. The reason is because this is
reflected throughout the story. The man is very jealous of the dog, because the dog
has natural protection against the cold of the Yukon. The man even tried to kill the
dog for his fur and warmth.
I think the author wants to say that you have to listen to the nature. And that man is
not always better than nature.
Plot
The introduction is the part where the narrator tells about a man who was walking in
the Yukon in Canada. He tells about where the man is going to and who his traveling
companion is, the dog.
The rising action begins when the protagonist is walking and steps into the water, so
he had to make a fire to warm himself up.
The climax was at the point where the protagonist failed to make a fire.
The falling action is the part where the protagonist is going to lose his mind. Where
he was running around like a chicken with its head cut off and where he tried to kill
his dog.
4
The denouement is the part where the protagonist died. And where the dog is
heading to the camp after the man died.
The conflict is man vs. nature. Because the man was fighting against the cold so that
he does not freeze and die. And he was fighting against the nature of the dog whose
kind has lived there for generations. By example, the dog did not want to leave into
the forest but wanted to stay in the camp to be safe and warm. But the man lost the
fight against nature. At the end of the story he died, and the dog survived.
Personal Appreciation
I liked the story, because during reading the book I was curious if the man would
survive the cold. But I did not like that you do not get to know the protagonist very
well. But it was interesting to read about a conflict between man and nature and not
like most of other stories where the conflict is between man vs man. I also liked that
it was not a predictable story with a happy end but that it has gone wrong.
