There is a Yukon code...He travels fastest who travels alone . . . but not after the frost has dropped below zero fifty degrees or more.
Jack London's "To Build A Fire" defines mans constant battle with nature. "Fifty degrees below zero was to him just precisely fifty degrees below zero. That there should be anything more to it than that was a thought that never entered his head."I think this line defines our battle against nature and the fact that we believe we can outdo nature. London points out in the story that the man lacks imagination but he also says the man is a chechaquo, a newcomer so maybe its not imagination the man lacks. The man has all he thinks is required to take the walk through the Yukon to meet his friends and feels he is prepared; it isn't lack of imagination that gets him into trouble, it's the fact that he didn't heed advice from more experienced people who have done the walk and he decided to take the walk alone.
As the man travels London points out the way the man looks for certain dangers on the way. He stayed alert and paid attention. But when he got into trouble he had no one with him to help and this is what really caused his death. The fact that he felt he knew better and could handle anything nature threw his way all on his own shows not lack of imagination but a big ego.
Submitted by Nyle Cooley
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