Modernism in Jack London's To Build a Fire

Modern literature has many distinct defining characteristics. The isolation of major characters and epiphanic moments in stories are two major examples. Jack London stands as one of America's premier Modernist writers, and his short story "To Build a Fire" exemplifies these Modern tenets.

The main character of London's story, referred to simply as "the man," is just about as alone as a human being can get. He's in one of the most isolated places on Earth, the Yukon, and is making his trek without any human companions. London emphasizes the man's isolation throughout the story's beginning. He makes it clear that his main character is not likely to encounter any others on the trail, making it clear that no one else has traveled it in quite some time. "The Yukon lay a mile wide and hidden under three feet of ice...as far as his eye could see, it was unbroken white" (London 735).

The fact that the trail is unbroken means that there are no footprints to be seen, a fact London reinforces a bit later. "A foot of snow had fallen since the last sled had passed over" (London 736) then, "The furrow of the old sled trail was plainly visible, but a dozen inches of snow covered up the marks of the last runners. In a month no man had come up or down that silent creek" (London 737) make it very clear that the man is totally on his own and later when disaster strikes, he has no hope but himself.

Even the sun itself is absent from the story, "It had been days since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few days more must pass before that cheerful orb, due south, would just peep above the skyline" (London 735). The man does have one companion on his trek, a dog, but London is very careful to establish the man's solitude before mentioning the dog in the story's sixth paragraph. The message is clear; our main character is completely and utterly on his own.

Epiphany is another major characteristic of Modernism. London sets up his main character's epiphany early, showing us his initial reaction to the advice of a man with far more experience in the cold than he himself possesses. "That man from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in the country. And he had laughed at him at the time!" (London 738). The man is arrogant, and fails to see the logic in the seasoned man's advice. After he gets his fire going following the accidental wetting of his feet, he again dismisses the advice he received. "The old-timer had been very serious...that no man must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below. Well, here he was...and he had saved himself. Those old-timers were rather womanish" (London 740).

Even after his close call, he is convinced that the warning he received was unfounded. His tune changes slightly when the fire goes out. "Perhaps the old-timer on Sulphur Creek was right" (London 741). He suspects that he may have been mistaken, but his epiphany still has not arrived. It's only when he is staring death in the face, when he's decided to lay down and accept his fate that his epiphany comes. "'You were right, old hoss; you were right.'" (London 744). In the story's sole line of dialogue, the main character verbalizes his epiphany. It comes too late; his realization is the last thought of his life.

The major Modernist motifs of isolation and epiphany form the backbone of Jack London's "To Build a Fire." London was a master storyteller, and his carefully-crafted stories exemplify Modernist literature.

Works Cited:

London, Jack. "To Build a Fire." Short Fiction: Classic and Contemporary. Charles Bohner and Lyman Grant, Eds. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2006. 735-744.