To Build a Fire essay

If you were stranded in the cold would you chose to do what you have been taught to do or would you rely on your instincts? In the short story To Build A Fire by Jack London there is a man walking through the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness. Instead of trusting his instincts he does what he has learned which in the end of the story causes him to lose his life. The lesson in this story is that sometimes it is better to trust your instincts than things that you have been taught. This story is a tragedy for numerous reasons.

The plot line of this story matches the plot line of a tragedy. It starts with the world in chaos for the main character. In this story it is about 75 below 0 and the main character is several miles away from civilization. Next there is a rise to power. The main character starts making good ground and believes that he will make it to his destination sooner than he expected. After that comes a tragic flaw. Well walking the main character steps through the ice into knee deep water. Then the tragic flaw leads to a tragic fall. The main character failed to make a fire to keep himself warm. Last there is death or death symbolism. Due to the main characters mistake of stepping in water he freezes to death. This story's plot line is identical to the plot line of a tragedy.

Along with plot line this story has characteristics similar to those of a tragedy. In order to be a tragedy a book has to be realistic. This story is very realistic. sadly there are people that do get lost and freeze to death. The other characteristic that all tragedies have is that the main character is in control. The main character didn’t have to go out in the cold. He didn’t have to keep traveling, he could have stopped and built a fire hoping that someone would find him. Stepping in the water was also under control of the main character, he didn’t have to go that way and take that risk but he did and it cost him his life. The main character was clearly in control throughout the whole story.

Not only does this story have the characteristics it needs it also has the same purpose as a tragedy. The purpose of a tragedy is to learn a moral lesson. The lesson in this story was that sometimes it is better to trust your instincts than things that you have been taught. The main character decided to obey what he has been taught and the result was death. The dog that was with him thought he was foolish, and knew that they shouldn’t have kept going. In the end the dog lived and the main character didn’t. We could never have enough knowledge to replace our innate behaviors.

The lesson in this story is one that could possibly save your life one day. To Build a Fire is a tragedy for many reasons. This story contains everything it needs to be a tragedy. It showed that you should sometimes trust your instincts which is the lesson learned. The characteristics of this story matched the characteristics of a tragedy. This story's plot line was also the same as a tragedy plot line. This story is a tragedy for numerous reasons.