Honors 9 Homework for 11/19/18

Re-read "To Build a Fire"

Read through blog notes



Notes for 11/19/18

How did the story make you feel?

The guy got what he deserved – he mistreated the dog. It was sad. The man wasn’t prepared and didn’t know what was going on. He went too far (too far away from other people).

Calm – nature wasn’t vindictive. It wasn’t attacking the man. Nature isn’t the bad guy; it’s just indifferent.

The man lacked imagination. He was ignorant. So, we don’t feel bad for him. He didn’t listen to the old timer.

Frustration – the man lacks the imagination that would have otherwise prevented his death.

In comparison, the dog has instinct. The man does not follow his instinct and suffers as a result.

The man doesn’t have a name, which helps establish the man as symbolic of mankind.

Mankind is without instinct; therefore, he requires imagination to survive.

The conflict is man vs. nature. 

 The way that the story was written – not naming the man, having him travel through barren terrain – made the man seem more alone. The dog represents nature. The fact that the man dies and the dog lives suggests that nature always wins.

The point of view is third person limited (limited to knowing everything that is going on in the man’s mind).  Because we know that the man lacks imagination, we don’t feel pity for him. Instead, we feel a greater sense of frustration.

The setting of the story contributes to the sense of isolation.

 

How do we get to the feeling of a story? We analyze the denouement. The denouement starts after the climax of the story.

Most people think that Jack London is a Naturalist. Therefore, nature always wins. The conflict is man vs. nature. The external conflict resolution occurs when the man finally falls asleep.

“The man drowsed off into what seemed to him the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known.” This sentence shows that nature has won. Everything after this sentence is the denouement.

Man can try to fight against nature but he will never win. If the dog symbolizes nature, then its continued existence is important.    

The dog and the man both do not have imagination, and yet the dog is doing what it should do to survive. The man is responsible for his own death. As a result, we feel frustration.

Mankind, as a whole, thinks that they are above nature. We are still part of nature. This brings us back to the realization that everything is connected.

The dog is not attached to the man. He is only relying on the man for food and fire.