A Smart Mind For Survival

In the story "To Build a Fire," the chechaqua man had to make many life and death decisions. From the very beginning of the story, the story says that the weather is fifty below zero. To decide to travel in conditions like that already seems to be a bad choice. The man did nothing to prepare for his journey. He brought a long a dog, lunch and some matches. Even though the things he brought were good essentials, he needed much more for the astounding weather, including a smart mind.

In the beginning of the story, London writes, "The chechaqua man was a newcomer to the land, and this was his first winter." (London 149) London also writes that to the man "Fifty below zero was to him just precisely fifty below zero. And that there should be nothing more to it than that was a thought that never entered his head." (London 149) In seeing the things that the man brought a long with him and knowing he did not know this particular land very well, shows a stubborn mind. By the statement the man made about fifty below is just fifty below; it shows the man thinks carelessly about the weather. Although, bringing the dog a long made a lot of sense, the man did not take the intuitions from the dog that the weather was unsafe. Many decisions already made were dangerous and careless for his venture. After going down the Yukon trail for a while the man realizes that it's actually colder than it seemed. I feel that a smart man would possibly turn around at that point and try again when it's not so cold. In the plot of the story, it reads that the Yukon territory had abundant sites of gold deposits. I feel that if this was the case and the man continued his journey because of gold, the man must of had a bit of greed.

When the man stops to have his lunch he forgets to build a fire. I feel the weather has already started to affect the man but he does not realize it. London writes that the man says "All a man has to do is keep his head, and he was all right." (London 154) As soon as the man hit the trail I feel that the weather started messing with his mind. Maybe because of the cold weather the man's judgment was way off. The man building his second fire under a tree full of snow is a prime example of his poor judgment. The decisions that were made before he started the venture can not be blamed on the weather but on a hard head and probably too much pride.

Not only making the decisions to go on such a journey unprepared but to not take the advice the old-timer shows his hard headedness. The older-timer new the land well and told the man that he should take someone a long. The man again made a bad decision. Taking someone to help him could have saved his life. The man should have swallowed his pride and listened to the old-timer.

In the end, the man loses his life. It started with his mind then to his cheeks, hands and toes. If he would have made better decisions his survival in the Yukon could have been different. In the type of weather the man should have thought twice about the decision he made. He should have listened to the old timer and been much more prepared.

London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." Reading and Writing about Literature. Pearson Education, Inc, 2002. 149-158