To what extent does setting determine what happens in this story?

What will be an ideal response?



  • In “To Build a Fire” what happens—the plot—is almost completely determined by the setting. It is seventy-five degrees below zero, a degree of cold that the man failed to anticipate. Because of the ice, snow, and traps, the man is unable to build a fire and save himself. London lavishes upon the setting the amount of detail usually reserved for a story’s characters. The arctic weather functions as if it were a character, a malignant adversary doing battle with the man. Detail is piled upon detail as the struggle is gradually lost.



But what happens is also determined by character, as this man’s biggest trouble is “that he was without imagination” (par. 2).

Language Arts & World Languages

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Language Arts & World Languages