To Build a Fire by Jack London why did the traveler die If you know of Essay

To Build a Fire by Jack London why did the traveler die If you know of a personal application for the life lesson shown in this story, you may briefly inclu - Essay Example The man’s errors of judgment leads to his death, whereas the only way out of it would have been to show respect to the advice by experienced people, to the laws of the nature, and to his own natural instincts instead of relying too much on artificial means of survival. London employs a strict and effective economy of words and terse plot construction to produce a powerful story replete with multiple layers of meaning. Though the unpredictable aspects of Nature play a major part in the devastation of the protagonist, the presence of a wild dog that accompanies him on his journey brings in many contrasts. The most significant among them is between the man’s estrangement from his own instincts that causes his death and the uninformed yet natural instincts of the beast that helps it survive. The characterization of the man is done deftly through references to his attitude to the excruciating cold which he understands to be fifty degrees below zero, but is in fact seventy five below zero. London describes that the absence of the sun or the tremendous cold did not make an impression on the man. It is not because he was used to it, as he is a newcomer to the place and it was his first winter. â€Å"The trouble with him was that he was without imagination† (London). He understands the extreme cold temperature on practical terms only, and tries to deal with it logically, taking for granted the man-made equipments which he hopes will protect him from the powers of Nature. The information that the temperature is in fact much below what the man understood it to be is sufficient to prepare the readers for his death. His inexperience in the terrain and his ruthlessness in discarding good advice are also explained from the beginning. However, readers are apt to hope against hope for the man’s survival, as he is depicted as giving a hearty fight till the end. The natural