TO BUILD A FIRE by Jack London

Look at a week of 30 degree weather, again this week, is awesome. Enjoying a week of 30 degree weather makes me a Minnesotan. Assigning To Build a Fire to my students to read this week makes me just a little evil.

I just finished prepping another day of Literature. Even though is teaching Literature scares me, because I love it and what if the students hate it, I’m enjoying every stressful moment. Tomorrow is day one and will be full of “Who are yous” and “Why is this importants;” however, in my mind, I’m already onto day 3. On Day three, I will give an overview of the craft of fiction as an approach to accessing the art of fiction. The Story that I have chosen to discuss with my students that will allow me to touch on all of the important craft tools is To Build a Fire.

To Build a Fire is a great teacher’s tool and a good model for a successful short story. Not only will it allow me to address the various types of conflict (Man vs. Man, Nature, Society, Self), but it has point of view shifts, concrete details, a classic Freytag Story Arc, summary and scene, and an elaborate setting that becomes not unlike an active character.

I think that my favorite part of the story is the ending:

Later, the dog whined loudly. And still later it crept close to the man and caught the scent of death. This made the animal bristle and back away. 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.

I love it. Nature and instinct win. Humans with our big minds have the ability to fight instinct. When the cold bites our skin, we can tell ourselves to put on more cloths, build bigger fires, or that we are tough enough to endure it. The dog knows better. He wanted to stay next to the fire. He only left because he was forced to heal by the sound of his master’s calling and whip cracking.

I hope my students like it.

London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 10th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Longman, 2007. 119 - 129