Talk:To Build a Fire

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Need to talk about the symbols that are shown through out the story to show the readers how the protagonist of the story is leading to them not to feel bad for him. Also, bring up symbols that showed the outcome of the story. 9Frank (talk) 03:30, 3 April 2017 (UTC)

The Summary needs to become a little more clear on the scenes and how they occurred 9Frank (talk) 03:27, 3 April 2017 (UTC)

Jack London's website

The website put down for Jack London is not correct and is going to get removed because the link does not work. -10 November 2016

Can you find and add a link that does work? Oeparker1 (talk) 20:57, 10 November 2016 (UTC)

Past tense

Please note that "To build a fire" is written in Past Tense! Made major rewritting of plot. Unsure if it needs shortening, if you deem it fit, you may shorten the plot. Fierywindz 04:11, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

Man vs. Nature

I would have thought that "To Build a Fire" is an example of Man versus Nature, but someone more knowledgeable than me should consider it. (GJD 5 July 2007)

School book report

this newer version of the pages is from my school report. -Helopusobiwa (7 December 2007) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Helopusobiwa (talk • contribs) 20:04, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Great story

To build a fire is a great short story. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.203.26.127 (talk) 22:10, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

Page Deletions

To who ever deleted the whole page stop it. -Helopusobiwa —Preceding unsigned comment added by Helopusobiwa (talk • contribs) 16:21, 9 January 2009 (UTC)

Characters

On Characters: I would like to note that it in fact mentions 1 name, curiously, it's not mentioned anywhere else in the text, it's simply the only name.

Once in a while the thought reiterated itself that it was very cold and that he had never experienced such cold. As he walked along he rubbed his cheek-bones and nose with the back of his mittened hand. He did this automatically, now and again changing hands. But rub as he would, the instant he stopped his cheek-bones went numb, and the following instant the end of his nose went numb. He was sure to frost his cheeks; he knew that, and experienced a pang of regret that he had not devised a nose-strap of the sort Bud wore in cold snaps. Such a strap passed across the cheeks, as well, and saved them. But it didn't matter much, after all. What were frosted cheeks? A bit painful, that was all; they were never serious.

It might be a useful tidbit to add if somebody can figure out who Bud was or why Jack put it in there.

Edit: Found old version, also found reference to nose-straps: Most men wore nose-straps; his partners did, but he had scorned such "feminine contraptions," and till now had never felt the need of them. Now he did feel the need, for he was rubbing constantly. So Bud might be a hunting buddy?

 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.185.118.2 (talk) 06:06, 12 July 2009 (UTC) 

This article is too short!!!

"To Build a Fire," is one of Jack London's most critically acclaimed stories...yet when you look up on Wikipedia it's barely two paragraphs long! This article needs to be longer! It is embarassing that a fan of Jack London would look up an article on his most famous story and find barely a page long of information on it!!! Please somebody make this article longer!!! -James Pandora Adams —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.176.154.190 (talk) 18:49, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

I agreeBmalo1 (talk) 01:33, 3 April 2017 (UTC)

If you look at the history you can read earlier much longer versions.Chemical Engineer (talk) 20:05, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

Reversion

I have reverted to the version of a year ago which includes a plot summary. Some proper citation and encylopedic content would be appreciated.Chemical Engineer (talk) 20:15, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

In the first paragraph, I simply want to change the wording to say two versions of a short story instead of "two short stories".Jswen1 (talk) 14:56, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

I agreeBmalo1 (talk) 01:45, 3 April 2017 (UTC)

Trivia

Has anyone noticed that there is a geographical error in Jack London's text? I will not say what it is right now to see if some JL fan could point it out to me...The error I'm referring to appears at the very first page of the narrative. To my knowledge, this error has never been spotted by commentators.I will just wait for one week and then I will tell the readers what it is...Gemb47 (talk) 05:41, 2 April 2011 (UTC) 77.42.225.4 (talk) 05:36, 2 April 2011 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.187.91.130 (talk) 05:13, 1 April 2011 (UTC) Well, I guess I should tell the readers what this error is! On the first page of the story, JL writes: "It had been days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due South, would just peep above the skyline and dip immediately from view." What this means is clear : the man is walking in a region situated North of the Arctic Circle, the only region in the Northern hemisphere where the Sun disappears for days... But in the next paragraph, we are told " The man flung a look back along the way he had come... This dark hair-line was the trail- the main trail- that led South five hundred miles to the Chilkoot Pass, Dyea, and salt water; and that led North seventy miles to Dawson..." So the man is walking 70 miles South of Dawson, which represents a full degree of latitude. But the latitude of Dawson is 64.04 degrees, so the latitude of the place where the man is walking is about 63 degrees, and where he had come is still further South. This is well below the Arctic Circle(~66.75 degrees), at a latitude where the Sun never disappears completely for days: Dawson's shortest day is about four hours!Gemb47 (talk) 05:52, 10 April 2011 (UTC)

References

This article has none at all ? 168.8.212.118 (talk) 15:35, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

The man could have survived.

The man could have survived, he could have built an igloo or snow cave and sheltered there till the boys came to search for him. The dog would have helped keep him warm. I guess 19th century and early 20th century people didn't know that.

Proxima Centauri (talk) 12:18, 20 January 2014 (UTC)

Alternatively Jack London may have known that igloos and snowshelters can be built, London may have imagined the man beginning to become apathetic due to hypothermia. Proxima Centauri (talk) 16:19, 21 January 2014 (UTC)

Imagery Theme

London's use of imagery should be mentioned considering its impact on the story. The author uses gloomy and dark imagery to emphasize the intense cold and further express his point Emilyworpek (talk) 17:37, 15 November 2016 (UTC)

links

The links should be linked to a credible or scholarly source not another wiki page. Bryalis (talk) 21:11, 17 November 2016 (UTC)

The summary should mention that "The Man" was warned about his trip but refused to listen. Bryalis (talk) 21:13, 17 November 2016 (UTC)

Symbolism

Overall, I agree with the summary of the story you have created here. However, I feel as if you should incorporate some of London's symbols he uses throughout the story. The symbols he creates are so important to the relevance and understanding of the story, and I feel as if they are what makes the story itself. I would consider adding some of them in the summary. Tsansone842 (talk) 18:49, 2 April 2017 (UTC)

I agree, there are symbolic elements in the story that should be mentioned here. Pat otoole (talk) 16:53, 3 April 2017 (UTC)

Details

I agree with your plot summary; overall it was very well-written. However, I found myself getting distracted on the main point of the summary because of the amount of details it contained. I would consider removing some and leaving the readers to discover what ultimately leads to the man's demise on their own. After all, that is the joy of reading a story. Tsansone842 (talk) 18:51, 2 April 2017 (UTC)

grammer

In the opening paragraph change "an oft-cited example" to "an often-cited example"

Bmalo1 (talk) 01:50, 3 April 2017 (UTC)

Foreshadowing

Please consider adding examples of foreshadowing the the article. As soon as the author mentions "the old timer at Sulphur Creek", the reader notices something may not go right. In paragraph 5 for example, the author writes, "It certainly was cold, he concluded, as he rubbed his numb nose and cheekbones with his mittened hand". Now the reader knows it is only 9 AM, and the man won't get to camp until 6 PM, so most likely the man won't end up very well. Also, you can focus on how numb the man's hand gets when he exposes it to the cool air while picking the ice bits out of his dog's fur.Emilydean1 (talk) 16:51, 3 April 2017 (UTC)

Times?

The times in this story are very specific. Are we sure that it was 9 in the morning when he set off? Is this universal lore for this story or is it just speculation? Evangc (talk) 18:00, 3 April 2017 (UTC)