Reflective Response on "To Build a Fire" by Jack London

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.

Nice job! Just use commas to introduce quotes:

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."

Perhaps you should explain how instinct saves the dog... and give this some sort of reflective conclusion.