To Build A Fire
...ave could and does fall into one wetting himself halfway to the knees. The man knew he had to build a fire. As he began to do so, he remembered the advice an old-timer on Sulfer Creek had given him. He said that, “A man must not fail in his first attempt to build a fire—that is, if his feet are wet” (Par. 19). So the man worked slowly and carefully to make sure he did not fail. After successfully building his fire the man thought of yet another piece of advice the old-timer had given. That “no man must ravel alone in the Klondike after fifty below.” (par. 21) At that moment the man chuckled as he thought to himself, “He was alone, and he saved himself. All a man needed to do was keep his head.”(Par. 21) Just as he was thinking this to himself, it happened. What he didn’t take into account the heat and rustle that he had caused by building this fire and in response to that, a tree bough capsized and all the snow from there on down fell to the earth and ended his fire. It was then that he believed Mother Nature had sentenced him to death. He knew he must try again but by this time all his limbs were so far past being numb that it was impossible. It was then that his ego had begun to subside and he realized that the old-timer had been right. If only he had had a partner. It is at this moment that the reader finally realizes all the importance to the repetition of the “old-timer”. The old-timer had not been womanly, as he had accused him to be, he had been wise. One person, you NEVER mess with is Mother Nature, because she can tear you apart quicker than you can “build a fire”. It wasn’t even worth trying because just as the man did in this story, you start thinking you’ve outwitted her and celebrate, and then… you lose. The old-timer knew that. The author does an exceptional job repeating the lines, “It certainly was cold” (par. 5) many times. I believe this played a big roles because at the same time the man thinks he can do anything, he is also knows in the back of his head that it is way too cold. As the reader goes on, it becomes more and more obvious that he is beginning to accept the fact th...