The Setting, Point Of View And Writing Style In Jack London’s To Build A Fire
It's hard to believe death knocking on your door could be a reocurring event. For the man in Jack London’s “To Build A Fire”. This was the result of a setting back to the years back to Yukon territory during the Klondike gold rush. There are three very important key elements to this story: the setting, point of view and writing style. With the story taking place in the Yukon, it's easy to imagine the struggles physically and mentally. He describes just how cold it really was so many times “the man’s red beard and mustache where likewise frosted, but more solidly, the deposit taking the form of the ice increasing with every warm, moist breath he exhaled.” The man is freezing in this constant heavy winter storm. It's incredibly colder than amarillo.”Also, the man was chewing tobacco, and the muzzle of ice held his lips so rigidly that he was unable to to clear his chin when he spit the juice out.” Nature is working against him constantly, even though the tree that “capsizes it's load of snow spreading out and enveloping the whole tree and descends without warning the man and the fire.” the fire bolted out.”
The point of view might be the most important element in this story because the narrator is not looking through the man’s mind, but instead leaves the reader to read between the lines by contrasting the dogs thoughts to that and of the mans judgement. It also helps connect to the real world because it's allowing everyone to understand and connect to the animal or the dog. We all know when a dog knows something is wrong they act different or scared. But the man ignores the dog and goes on with himself. For example “the trouble was that he was without imagination.” He might not be prepared for what comes ahead. The man is quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not the significance.” The man has no idea what lies ahead of him, and what it will take to strive for the future.
The writing style leads me to belive that London can take any regular story and make it seem like real life.” Day has broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when a man turned aside from the Yukon trail and climbed the high earth bank.” The story follows the mistery man on his path through the Yukon on a mission for his own life. London is able to pull in the reader without even taking away from the story. In the works with point of view, setting and writing style, it's hard for me to write on a highschool level but this story made it alot easier because of the way the story brought me in.
