Assignment by: Angel Rose T.

De la Cruz
TO BUILD A FIRE BY JACK LONDON
EXPOSITION
 SETTING
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.

 CHARACTER
There were four characters in the story; the man as the protagonist, the severe winter as the
antagonist and the old-timer and the dog as the minor characters.
RISING ACTION
Dog falls in the ice -tries to make a fire after falling into "trap"- his feet and legs are frozen, -
builds a fire to warm himself -can't get matches going -snow/moss fall and puts out his fire

 CONFLICT
There are several conflicts in the story. One is man vs. nature, the main character’s struggle
to survive in the wilderness. He isn’t experienced traveling in the Klondike and doesn’t take
the necessary food and supplies he needs to survive. He also ignores the advice of veteran
travellers who tell him never to travel alone when the temperature gets below minus fifty
degrees. Our traveller doesn’t respect the forces of nature and how cruel it can be.
Another conflict is man vs. death, coming to terms with one’s own death. The main character
must accept his death and goes through different stages before he can come to terms with it.
He berates himself for not listening to the old-timer’s advice, then becomes depressed, goes
into a panic, and then makes one last attempt to survive. His last act is to “try meeting it with
dignity”, accepting that his death is certain. And the last conflict is man vs. animal. This is
because the man did not trust or let the dog find their way to the camp, when it is clear the
dog could have led the man. The man insisted on control and was domineering with the dog.
Instincts in the dog were much more valuable than the man realized. If he had survived, the
man might have realized that he should have “listened” to the dog in the first place.
CLIMAX
The climax occurs when the story’s protagonist, simply referred to as "the man," warming
himself after falling through the ice in the extreme, frigid cold of the Yukon Territory,
discovers the folly of building a fire beneath a snow-covered tree.
FALLING ACTION
The man's resignation of death, when he realizes that there will be no fire--and no salvation.
Despite his final attempt to save himself by running back to camp, he knew he "lacked the
endurance" to do so.
RESOLUTION
The man is in peace and not in pain anymore because he is dead.

 POV
The point of view in "To Build a Fire" is third-person omniscient. In other words, the
narrator stands outside of the story and refers to the characters in the third person ("he," "the
man," "the dog," "it") and sometimes comments on their behaviour and personalities.
 TONE
To Build a Fire is considered a short story that uses the elements of the genre, naturalism,
where man is ill-equipped to survive in a hostile environment like the Klondike. Nature
doesn't care what happens to the man because nature is a force that man cannot control or
tame.
 THEME
The theme of the story is the tragic tale of a man who decides to travel alone through the
hostile environment of the Yukon in sub-freezing temperatures and falls victim to the
unrelenting and unforgiving power of nature.
 SYMBOLISM
Fire is used to cook food, further... Fire is a repeating symbol in the short story. Fire, and
the successful building of a fire, serves many purposes. Above all, it is a life-sustaining force
in the deadly cold climate of the Yukon.