The climax, or point of highest emotional intensity, in "To Build a Fire" occurs after the man's first fire is extinguished and he is unable to start a second.
In Jack London's story that dramatizes his conviction that "civilized" beings are either destroyed or re-created in savage environments, the man who has not stopped earlier to warm himself notices that his fingers are starting to freeze, so he hurries to build a fire. He realizes...
The climax, or point of highest emotional intensity, in "To Build a Fire" occurs after the man's first fire is extinguished and he is unable to start a second.
In Jack London's story that dramatizes his conviction that "civilized" beings are either destroyed or re-created in savage environments, the man who has not stopped earlier to warm himself notices that his fingers are starting to freeze, so he hurries to build a fire. He realizes too late that he has lit a fire under a snow-covered spruce tree; when the snow melts from the heat of the fire, it extinguishes the flames.
The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death.
He hurries to make another fire in the open, but after he has the twigs to do so, he cannot clutch a second piece of birch bark in his pocket that will ignite the twigs he has gathered; his fingers are frost-bitten. Finally, he extricates the bark after removing his glove. Unfortunately, his fingers are stiff and he drops the matches into the snow; "the dead fingers could not touch nor clutch." Nevertheless, in his desperation, he finally succeeds in lighting the matches, and he tries to put pieces of rotten wood and twigs on it to fuel it, but he must use his mouth and arms. The clumsy attempt causes the fire to go out this time.
The dog watches quietly as "the provider" fails. When the man notices the dog watching, he recalls how a man saved himself by climbing inside a steer that he killed. Now he thinks, perhaps, that he can kill the dog and warm his hands inside its body until the numbness leaves so that he can build another fire. But, as he approaches the dog on his hands and knees, the dog's suspicious nature makes it move away. The man stands and calls to the dog in the normal manner. The dog holds still and the man encircles its body with his arms, but he cannot clutch it, nor can he use his knife or throttle the animal. Now, "a certain fear of death, dull and oppressive came to him." In his despair, he realizes that the old-timer on Sulfur Creek was right. After the temperature goes to fifty below, no one should travel alone. Still, he tries to run, but he lacks the endurance to make it to the camp. "It was his last panic."
No comments:
Post a Comment