Frozen Tomb

Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” displayed one man’s cultural shock which led to his death. People and animals adapt to their culture and habitat. When we venture outside of our familiar surroundings, we find that many things are different. Climate is a huge variable that affects our habitat and culture. The man in London’s story was traveling with only a dog along the Yukon trail. The temperature was around -75 degrees. The man was warned by the “old timer” as well as his dog, but he did not heed their warnings. Instead, his culture, the culture of the dog and the “old timer,” as well as the culture of the Yukon went to battle.

The “old timer” was familiar with the area. He advised the man not to travel alone when the temperature was low. Because the “old timer” was of the area, his cultural knowledge was that of the dangers present. The dog was had reservations about traveling in the cold whether as well. The dog’s instincts told him that it was not wise because the temperatures were too low. However, the dog was loyal to the man because of his fear of being whipped. The dog reluctantly followed the man on his journey.

The Yukon was a culture of its own. Even though it was not a living creature, it had more destructive ability than any other creature present. The snow covered patches of thin ice which led to freezing water. The snow made it harder to find wood to burn and harder to keep fires burning when the wood was available. The wind added to the chill. The temperature caused tobacco juice to freeze on the man’s face when he tried to expectorate. The Yukon does not take prisoners, it enforces the death penalty.

The man traveling through the Yukon had tunnel vision. He saw things but did not perceive their threat until it was too late. He thought that he was invincible. His culture up until that point had brought him to this belief. He did not heed the warnings of the “old timer” possibly thinking that the man was old and did not remember the strength of his younger years. He did not care enough about the dog to notice his reluctance and take warning from it.

In the end, the Yukon took his life. Slowly, his extremities froze causing his inability to start the life saving fire he craved. Once he realized he was going to die if he did not find warmth, he thought of killing his only companion, the dog, in order to use his skin as protection. However, because of his prior cruel treatment of the dog, he was unable to get the dog to trust him enough to steal his warmth. When he did get the dog, he was unable to hold anything to use to remove the skin because the Yukon had stolen his use of his fingers. In the end, he continued to freeze until the life left his body. The culture of the Yukon won over the invincible culture of the man when all was said and done.

Sipiora, Phillip. “To Build a Fire.” Reading and Writing about Literature. Pearson Education, Inc., 2002. 149-158.