To Build A Fire – Uriel Flores Garcia

In “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, there is a variety of things that makes me feel pity and at the same time anger towards the man, due to the outcome of his pride and ignorance. When reading the short story, in the beginning, it is shown to us, the readers, the current situation that the man is in, and it leaves me wondering, why in the cold in the first place? Later on, it’s explained why he is there but as the reader, I still wonder why during this harsh weather and temperature does the man decide to travel? The effects that this story demonstrates to us of the danger of this extreme cold in the wild is by using the third-person narration. The third-person narration shows the dangers that will lie ahead of the man and the detailed description of the weather and the man’s conflicts. Some of these descriptions that are used by the narration are examples of figurative language. According to the short story, it states, “Working carefully from a small beginning, he soon had a roaring fire.” This quote shows the use of personification for the fire as something “living” because of the strength it has in the extreme weather and how the man depends on it for survival as if he had other people helping him. Another figurative language is the use of repetition. According to the short story, we see “It certainly was cold” at least four different times, throughout the story. This quote shows how the narrator gives us a reminder and a deeper feeling of the pain the man is going through, and how it gets worst with his desperation for survival.

In conclusion, these effects that brought my attention were personification and repetition by the third-person narration. This helps me, as the reader, feel what the man in the short story is feeling during the freezing temperatures. However, the man’s ignorance and pride lead him to his downfall for not listening to the old man’s advice, which makes me feel anger but pity for him for struggling during those hard freezing temperatures.