rockd211
Dec 29, 2008
Writing Feedback / Reflective Response on "To Build a Fire" by Jack London [2]
My assignment was to write a 300 word reflection. For my nature writing class I have to write about 20 reflect responses with a book report. Let me know if you have any advice that would help me in this class. Please check my writing for everything from grammar to transition from one topic to the next. Thank You!
In Jack London's "To Build a Fire", a man is faced with extreme cold in the
Yukon Territory of Canada. While travelling with his subservient husky dog
companion, he encounters a series of events which show the frailty of man
and his lack of knowledge of it. The author paints a picture of a man
seemingly in control with his arctic surroundings. As the plot thickens,
we start to see the early sign of hypothermia as the author explains
the man's numbed cheek-bones and hands. I think that the author does
an excellent job building suspense by explaining how "undoubtedly it was
colder than fifty below-how much colder he did not know" and "the
thought reiterated itself that it was very cold and that he had never
experienced such cold." Then it happened; he fell into a spring right after
warming himself by a fire at camp. From there the author shows the
difference between instinct and knowledge. There is a point when
knowledge will not save us and it is shown how humans are delicate
animals. We often do not understand this until we are in a position
similar to the man in this story. The dog slinked at the man's heels
knowing in his heart that it wasn't the time to travel. The use of
descriptive writing in this story is vivid. The author uses most of all
feeling to describe the cold but also uses sight, smell, taste, and hearing.
I love how he explained that the dog hears the "sound of whip-lashes"
and come to him except for at the very end when instinct overcame
knowledge. Faced with the realization of his own death, he finally
understands his own mortality. As he tries to call the dog over to save
himself, instinct saves the dog.
My assignment was to write a 300 word reflection. For my nature writing class I have to write about 20 reflect responses with a book report. Let me know if you have any advice that would help me in this class. Please check my writing for everything from grammar to transition from one topic to the next. Thank You!
In Jack London's "To Build a Fire", a man is faced with extreme cold in the
Yukon Territory of Canada. While travelling with his subservient husky dog
companion, he encounters a series of events which show the frailty of man
and his lack of knowledge of it. The author paints a picture of a man
seemingly in control with his arctic surroundings. As the plot thickens,
we start to see the early sign of hypothermia as the author explains
the man's numbed cheek-bones and hands. I think that the author does
an excellent job building suspense by explaining how "undoubtedly it was
colder than fifty below-how much colder he did not know" and "the
thought reiterated itself that it was very cold and that he had never
experienced such cold." Then it happened; he fell into a spring right after
warming himself by a fire at camp. From there the author shows the
difference between instinct and knowledge. There is a point when
knowledge will not save us and it is shown how humans are delicate
animals. We often do not understand this until we are in a position
similar to the man in this story. The dog slinked at the man's heels
knowing in his heart that it wasn't the time to travel. The use of
descriptive writing in this story is vivid. The author uses most of all
feeling to describe the cold but also uses sight, smell, taste, and hearing.
I love how he explained that the dog hears the "sound of whip-lashes"
and come to him except for at the very end when instinct overcame
knowledge. Faced with the realization of his own death, he finally
understands his own mortality. As he tries to call the dog over to save
himself, instinct saves the dog.