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1.symbol

The dog. In the paragraph, the dog represent the right way to survive in winter. The dog has been always sensative to environment, which included cold temperature and reliance on camp fire. But the man had less feeling of the cold temperature until he die, evem forgot to set campfire. Which the dog represent the survival possibility of man.

2.Characterization

The overconfidence of the man and his action reflect the man was a careless man, he always recognize the dangerous until he encountered. He for got to set camp fire and ignores the old man's warning. Thus finally cause his death.

3.Conflict

The conflict between the man and natre significantly shown in the story. The man overc onfident and not pay attention to the weather finally cause his death. He was still being careless under the cold weather, which the nature finally punish him that freezed him and extinguish his camp fire finally kill himself.

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The theme of Jack London's "To Build a Fire" is a stark exploration of humanity's hubris in the face of nature's indifference. The central theme is the primacy of instinct and experience over mere intellect, as the protagonist's intellectual confidence proves fatal against the Yukon's brutal cold.

The author employs naturalism, portraying the man as a victim of deterministic forces beyond his control. Vivid, sensory imagery immerses the reader in the extreme environment, making the cold a tangible antagonist. The dog acts as a foil, and its primal instincts contrasting with the man's flawed rationality. The key events like the snow extinguishing his fire utilize foreshadowing to build inevitable tension. Ultimately, the story's power lies in its detached, objective tone, which mirrors nature's own lack of malice, simply presenting the consequences of human error against an unforgiving universe.

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The story build a fire talk about the theme that human overconfidence in nature and the power of nature.

The author use literature technique symbolism.

Fire symbolizes human's hope to survive against nature. When the fire fails, it shows nature is too strong for humans. The dog symbolizes respecting nature's rules. It knows the cold is dangerous, unlike the man who is overconfident.

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The author, Jack London, conveys the message that overconfidence inevitably leads to unavoidable failure when confront the mastery of wildness. This theme is brought to life through London’s use of contrast between the old-timer's hard-earned wisdom and the innate instinct from the sled dog. In the content, the man's ignorance the old-timer’s warning finally results in his desperate tragedy. The evidence illuminates how the overconfidence and ignorance seals the protagonist's death.

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In the novel,London expressed the dangers of human’s contempt and the arrogance to the nature. London used several writing techniques in the novel to show the conflict between animal’s instinct and humans’rationality. One of these techniques is the symbolism. The dog and the man were symbolized by London. Representing the instinct and the rationality of animal and human. The man believed in his own judgement to the temperature in the Yukon trail. But the actual result was much worser through dog instinct of survival. London represents the humans’ arrogance to his rational judgement. At the end, the man died because of his rough decision.Through the conflicts between them in the winter. London shows the dangers of contempt and arrogance to the nature. Showing the importance to hold in awe to the nature.

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The theme of the story is the overcoming of danger. The author used characterization to illustrate how the man ignored the warning from others, and send himself to death. The man ignored the warning from others " That man from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in the country. And he had laughed at him at the time!" . He also dismissed the severity of the cold, trusting his own limited judgement over hard-earned nature and failure to prepare ultimately seal his fate. His overconfidence and disrespect to the nature sent him to death.

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London uses vivid imagery to argue the theme of how human overconfidence is weak against nature's power. The initial imagery of "sharp, explosive cold" establishes a deadly setting for the man, but he just ignore it. Later, the image of snow falling from the tree destroys his fire, showing how easy for nature to ruin the survival hope. At the end, the description of his frozen body and trembling fingers completely reveals the tragedy of overconfidence brings to the man as a punishment of ignoring nature.

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In “To Build a Fire”, the protagonist learns the hard way that nature is ultimately very powerful. To ignore its power is to invite destruction. The story of London uses naturalism, with nature presented as indifferent and overwhelming. When the man subsequentially fails to recreate his fire after falling in icy water, the freezing temperature quick starts to numb his body and makes him die and not survive. This means that nature is neutral; it is neither cruel nor kind. It just goes about its business relentlessly. And any human who underestimates it has to face dire consequences.

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1. Theme

The story asserts that disregarding nature’s power and acting with overconfidence in harsh environments leads to ruin, underscoring the necessity of humility and respect for the natural world.

2. Literature Technique

Imagery

3. Example

The author uses vivid imagery of the “frozen moisture making the hair of his face into ice needles” and the “dead, cold eyes of the Yukon” to depict the brutal, unforgiving nature of the environment, emphasizing how the harsh landscape overwhelms the protagonist’s arrogance and leads to his downfall.

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The motif of “To build a fire, by Jacks London ” is showed by the technique of symbolism, which is blind confidence in extreme environments. When the author mentions the extreme environment of Yukon, he describes the dog as “The animal was worried by the great cold. It knew that this was no time for traveling. Its own feeling was closer to the truth than the man’s judgment.” . The dog is the symbolism of the instinctive awe of the laws of nature, because it feels dangerous about the cold weather, which creates a sharp contrast to the man’s blind confidence.

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What you need to do today:

1. Express the possible theme of that story ( remember: it should be a claim)

2. One literature technique the author has used in that story (one technique across the text)

3. One example of how the author used that technique

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Fire as a Symbol

Fire symbolizes fragile human survival and reason against nature’s power:

When the man builds a roaring fire, it "outwits" the cold—letting him thaw, eat, and survive, representing humanity’s ability to use reason .

When a snow avalanche extinguishes the fire, the man feels "his own sentence of death"—revealing that human control over survival is fleeting, and nature can destroy it in an instant .

Characterization: The Man’s Arrogance and Lack of Imagination

He sees 50 below zero only as "cold and uncomfortable," never reflecting on human frailty or the deeper danger—showing his lack of imagination .

He mocks the old-timer’s warning (calling him "womanish") and insists "any man could travel alone," revealing arrogance that blinds him to his vulnerability .

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Man

“He was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances.” The evidence shows the man’s lack of understanding to the things that he is facing. Although he is practical, he cannot see consequence of the objective facts. He is unable to predict the danger of the cold weather because he cannot imagine the consequences. His logical consideration such as thinking he could travel long distances in the freezing weather are flawed because they ignore the powerful of nature. This contrast with the dog highlights how human reasoning. The man’s behavior shows that he is overconfident, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

Dog

“The dog had learned about fire, and it wanted fire. Otherwise, it would dig itself into the snow and find shelter from the cold air.“ This evidence shows the dog’s adaptability and survival wisdom. Unlike the man, the dog do not want to struggle against nature but always changing its behavior to survive. It knows that fire means warmth to itself, but if fire is unable to build up, it can still could try other methods. This highlights the dog’s strong survival instincts. In contrast, the man tries on traveling forward and ignores other safer choices, which reveals his overconfidence. The dog’s behavior shows that it is flexiable and more in sitiable with the natural than the man.

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"The dog did not want to go. It hung back until the man shoved it forward, and then it went quickly across the white, unbroken surface. The ice held, and the man laughed aloud. After all, he was making progress; and the dog, docile, with tail between its legs, ambled along at his heels."

It has an instinct for self - preservation, unlike the man who relies on flawed human reasoning. For example, the dog senses the extreme cold and wants to seek warmth, while the man underestimates the cold.

characterization

"He was a newcomer in the land, a chechaquo, and this was his first winter. The trouble with him was that he was without imagination."

When he starts a fire under the snow - covered spruce tree and snow falls on it, extinguishing the fire, he doesn't fully grasp the danger. This detail characterizes him as someone who is ill - prepared and overly sure of his own abilities in a harsh environment.

conflict

"At a place where there were no signs, where the soft, unbroken snow seemed to advertise solidity beneath, the man broke through. It was not deep. He wet himself halfway to the knees before he floundered out to the firm crust."

The man vs. nature. The extreme cold (around seventy - five degrees below zero) is a threat. He struggles to keep warm, to find safe paths, and to start fires.

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“But all this -- the mysterious, far-reaching hair-line trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all -- made no impression on the man.  It was not because he was long used to it.” ”Possibly all the generations of his ancestry had been ignorant of cold, of real cold, of cold one hundred and seven degrees below freezing-point. But the dog knew; all its ancestry knew, and it had inherited the knowledge. And it knew that it was not good to walk abroad in such fearful cold. ”These quatation shows how arrogant the man is. When facing danger, even though he is looked terrible, the extreme weather still can’t make any impression to him.

“Once again, however, he had a close call; and once, suspecting danger, he compelled the dog to go on in front. The dog did not want to go. It hung back until the man shoved it forward,   and then it went quickly across the white, unbroken surface.” This quotation indicates the man’ s attitude to the dog. The way he treats the dog shows his cruelty and ruthlessness.

“ But the brute had its instinct. It experienced a vague but menacing apprehension that subdued it and made its link along at the man's heels, and that made it question eagerly every unwonted movement of the man as if expecting him to go into camp or to seek shelter somewhere and build a fire. The dog had learned fire, and it wanted fire, or else to burrow under the snow and cuddle its warmth away from the air.” This sentence shows the dog rely on its instinct.

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Based on what I read, the dog I have seen has one core trait which is based on a survival instinct and reliance which is pragmatic. This reliance is not based on emotional loyalty, but on a clear understanding that humans are the most important tools for survival in this harsh wilderness. In the excerpt, the fire was desired not in abstract terms, as the text says, ‘its eager longing for the fire mastered it’, showing us that it could not resist the desire for ‘the fire’ which makes it out of the whole darkness. Further, fire means warmth and survival. The reason for the anxiety and attachment of being with man in early years was because it took man to be the fire-providers. This designation accurately conveys the functional dependency relationship between the two. The reasons lies in the fact that the dog was reliant on the hot fire not on the owner per se but the fire-provider function. Yet, when this ‘tool’ failed and ‘the scent of death’ came out, the instinct which ensures its survival totally over-rode the pragmatic dependency relationship. Thus, it was told that a dead ‘provider’ was useless and merely dangerous. The creature's fur stood on end and it retreated when threatened. Finally, it turned and ran towards the camp, in search of other "providers".

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Characterization

1. The man

The quotation indicates that the mam didn’t take account of external factors like blizzard, ice crackle and something might retard him, thereby causing the subsequent event. It shows that the man is lacking of foresight and imagination. In addition, it also validates that the man only observe the outline of the event rather than its significance.

2. The dog

“The dog did not know anything about thermometers. Possibly in its brain there was no sharp consciousness of a condition of very cold such as was in the man's brain. But the brute had its instinct. It experienced a vague but menacing apprehension that subdued it and made it slink along at the man's heels, and that made it question eagerly every unwonted movement of the man as if expecting him to go into camp or to seek shelter somewhere and build a fire.”

According to the quotation, the dog detects numerous emergencies through its instinct, which reflects the foolishness of the man and emphasizes the importance of natural instinct. It shows a kind of natural wisdom to withstand the extreme disaster.

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The characterization of the man and the dog

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The characterization of the man and the dog

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The Man:

“The result was that a crystal beard of the color and solidity of amber was increasing its length on his chin. If he fell down it would shatter itself, like glass, into brittle fragments. But he

did not mind the appendage.” and the “Empty as the man's mind was of thoughts, he was keenly observant, and he noticed the changes in the creek, the curves and bends and timber-jams, and always he sharply noted where he placed

his feet. ”

The two quotes from the original passage are reflecting the man’s arrogance and rationality to the readers. He knew that the appendage on his beard can be very dangerous if he fell down to the ground but he didn’t care about that. He just continued to split the tobacco out of his mouth. Making the heavy frost covering his beard. This shows his arrogance to potential dangers. He not only knew the dangers but also knew the risks. However, he still decided to keep chewing his tobacco. Just like why he decided to walk on the creek although it’s very dangerous.

Also, his rationality was represented by the his actions. He first observed the places where may had holes and tried to avoid them. He noticed the dangers and knew to avoid them. Showing his rationality in the cruel nature.

The Dog:

“The dog did not know anything about thermometers. Possibly in its brain there was no sharp consciousness of a condition of very cold such as was in the man's

brain. But the brute had its instinct.”

The quote from the passage shows the dog’s loyalty to instinct and primitive thoughts. The dog knew nothing about the science but knew the exact temperature. Much precise than the Man’s prediction. It only has the instinct of animal to avoid the cold and to survive. Different with the man, it relied on its nature rather than rational thinking.

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Analysis of the man:

Evidence: “The trouble with him was that he was without imagination… Fifty degrees below zero was to him just precisely fifty degrees below zero.”

This detail shows that the man is very practical. The coldness didn’t mean anything to him, he cannot see underneath the surface, so he underestimates the power of the environment. The man is an overly confident person, someone who is careless and stubborn. He believes he can handle anything if he just keeps going, but this attitude makes him blind to the true danger around him.

Analysis of the dog:

Evidence: “The animal was depressed by the tremendous cold. It knew that it was no time for travelling. Its instinct told it a truer tale than was told to the man by the man's judgment.”

This evidence shows the dog’s sharp instincts. Unlike the man, the dog does not need to calculate numbers or think logically. Its natural sense warns it that the cold is threatening his life and that traveling is not safe. The dog wants to stop, want to wait by the fire for warmth. This contrast with the man which highlights how instinct can sometimes be wiser than human‘s logic. The dog’s behavior shows that it is careful and clever.

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1. The characterization of the dog:

"The animal was depressed by the tremendous cold. It knew that it was no time for travelling. Its instinct told it a truer tale than was told to the man by the man's judgment... It experienced a vague but menacing apprehension that subdued it and made it slink along at the man's heels, and that made it question eagerly every unwonted movement of the man as if expecting him to go into camp or to seek shelter somewhere and build a fire. The dog had learned fire, and it wanted fire, or else to burrow under the snow and cuddle its warmth away from the air." it shows that dog are born with survival. Unlike the man, the dog naturally be noticed the danger of cold. The dog recognizes "It was no time for traveling" and constantly looks for the man to build a fire or seek shelter.

2. The characterization of the man

"But all this—the mysterious, far-reaching hair-line trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all—made no impression on the man. It was not because he was long used to it. He was a newcomer in the land, a chechaquo, and this was his first winter. The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances. Fifty degrees below zero meant eighty-odd degrees of frost. Such fact impressed him as being cold and uncomfortable, and that was all. It did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature..." It shows that the man is overconfidence and ignorance. As a "chechaquo," he dismisses how powerful the nature and laughs at the old-timer’s advice early on and believes "any man who was a man could travel alone." He failed to recognize the danger of coldness.

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Man — Overconfident

P4 “He smiled agreeably to himself as he thought of those biscuits, each cut open and sopped in bacon grease, and each enclosing a generous slice of fried bacon.”

it shows his casual and confident, almost naive attitude.This man just care about the tasty food toward the extreme cold, contrasting with the danger.

P14 “That man from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in the country. And he had laughed at him at the time!”

It directly shows the confidence of this man.The man ignore all potential dangers of the nature and he paid no attention at all to the advice of the experienced person.

Dog — Calm and patient

The dog knows that he need to find a person who can fire for warmth, we can know this dog is very experienced and very composed in the extreme weather. Additionally, while the man struggled to build fires, the dog sat and watched quietly, its eyes showing eagerness for fire but no restlessness. It waited patiently even as the man failed repeatedly, and only left once it confirmed the man was dead.

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From what I have read, the dog I saw had a core trait that was based on a survival instinct and a pragmatic dependence - its dependence was not out of emotional loyalty, but stemmed from a clear understanding: humans were the key tools for survival in this harsh wilderness. This trait is vividly demonstrated in the text; it craved the fire, not out of abstract feelings, as the text states, "its eager longing for the fire mastered it", making it unable to resist the desire for "the fire" itself, because fire meant warmth and survival. The reason it stayed by the man and initially felt anxious was because it regarded him as "the fire-providers" - this title precisely defines the functional dependency relationship between the two; it relied not on the "owner" identity, but on the "fire-provider" function. However, when this "tool" failed and emitted "the scent of death", the instinct that sustained its survival completely overrode the pragmatic dependency relationship: the instinct told it that a deceased "provider" was of no value and only dangerous. So, it "bristled and backed away" (its fur stood on end and it retreated), and finally turned and ran towards the camp to look for other "providers".

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Although the dog doesn't have such complex elaborated faculty, it is still a clever dog. Since the dog has a lack of elaborated faculty and no sharp consciousness of a condition, it can't feel the cold just like the man. Nevertheless, the dog still experienced a threatening fear suppressed it. In this terrible situation, it learnt that fire is something that can support itself to survive or stay alive; thus, the dog wanted fire.

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1. Characterization of the Man

"The trouble with him was that he was without imagination."“Such fact impressed him as being cold and uncomfortable, and that was all"“They had come over across the divide from the Indian Creek country, while he head come the roundabout way to take a look at possibilities of getting out logs in the spring from the islands in the Yukon. He would be in to camp by six o’clock; a bit after dark, it was true but the boys would be there, a fire would be going, and a hot supper would be ready."

These quotations all describes the thoughts of the man to his current situations. They show that the man is too optimistic and lack of imagination, since he doesn't presuppose how cold Yukon is. This also proves that he doesn't know how to prevent danger and he is foolish to place all his hope on others.

2. Characterization of the Dog

“It experience a vague but menacing apprehension that subdued it and made it slink along at the man's heels, and that made it question eagerly every unwonted movement of the man as if expecting him to go into camp or to seek shelter somewhere and build a fire."

This quotation is about the action of the dog when facing the extreme cold weather. The dog maintains its respect to the nature and have the alertness to the weather. This also provides a comparison between the man and the dog, which shows that the dog have the sense of protecting itself but the man does not.

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From page 4, the third paragraph, “He pulled the mitten on hurriedly and stood up. He was a bit frightened. He stamped up and down until the stinging returned into the feet. It certainly was cold, was his thought.” These sentence show that the man was impatient through some actions. "Frightened" is a word that describe his emotion, so it shows the man was afraid of the cold.

From the last sentence of the whole story, “A little longer it delayed, howling under the stars that leaped and danced and shone brightly in the cold sky. Then it turned and trotted up the trail in the direction of the camp it knew, where were the other food-providers and fire-providers.” The dog "thought" the man was just "his" helper and provider, which showed its clever and not very royal. Also the author choose to use it as the last sentence is also significance, it can give readers the feeling of uncovering the facts and the truth.

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1. Here’s showing the internal conflict of the man. Using tactile, his panic and sensory details reveal both his fear towards and life threatening environment. There’s also a contrast between his overconfident at the beginning. In addition, getting his feet wet symbolizes vulnerability—such a small mistake can lead to death in this harsh environment.

—“The dog had learned fire, and it wanted fire, or else to burrow under the snow and cuddle its warmth away from the air.”

The dog depends on instinct, knowing that fire means survival and warmth. Unlike the man, who is overconfident and makes mistakes, the dog indicates a natural wisdom, which is also a kind of symbolism in the story. This contrast highlights instinct can be more reliable than human reasoning in extreme conditions, and the dog become a mirror that shows the man’s weakness against nature.

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Man

In this case, the author directly points out the characteristic and the personal style of the man. It showcases that he is confident, brave and a small proportion of "dumb" by demonstrating that the only impression left for him is coldness and uncomfortableness instead of considering his frailty as human being or temperate creature. The root reason for his belief is that he lacks of imagination only be quick and alert in the things of life rather than the logic behind

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The man has a lack of emotion, he don't have any feelings when he was suffering in the bad weather. In addition, he is calm when facing the tremendous cold. From his perception, nothing appears in his mind except frigid.

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9.4 FOR TODAY!!!!!!! You only need to focus on character

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9.4 FOR TODAY!!!!!!! You only need to focus on character

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Post the " details" (textual evidence) about how London depicts the two characters here from the story and what is shown through the evidence: one evidence for the man and one for the dog.