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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
In four pages this paper examines how Jack London utilizes setting as the antagonist in his classic short story. There are no additional sources listed in the bibliography.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG61_TGbuildfire.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
high earth-bank, where a dim and little-traveled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland" (London 142). Upon first glance, the opening sentence to Jack Londons short story "To
Build a Fire" - first published in The Century Magazine in August 1908 - is little more than setting the literary stage for the reader who is about to embark
on a fictional journey with a man and his dog. However, as the story progresses, it becomes readily apparent that there is a third character that
is so important, there would be no story without it. The frigid weather and frozen landscape combine to become a powerful antagonist that fuels the plot, generates conflict, intensifies
the action to a compelling climax, and brings the story to its tragic conclusion. London provides a subtle hint that he intends for the setting to be more than
a passive descriptive device by describing the Yukon trail as a "hairline" (142), thus giving it a human quality. The narrative depicts the protagonist as a chechaquo or newcomer,
one who is ignorant of such brutal subzero temperatures. For him, "fifty degrees below zero" was just a thermometer reading suggesting a chill in the air (London 143).
But his canine companion knew better. He was all-too-familiar with this icy terrain, and his instincts filled the dog with "a vague but menacing apprehension" (London 144). The
dog knew continuing the journey was not only dangerous, but also futile. However, his master thought differently. The elements, though inconvenient, were not insurmountable. The storys plot revolves
around the protagonists attempts to navigate a frozen Yukon countryside in hopes of joining his friends and reaching their warm cabin by nightfall. As the action commences, the landscapes
...