Eduardo Gonalves Mr.

Phillips English 9B 8 October 2013 The Actual Meaning of Survival We are symbols, and inhabit symbols (Ralph Waldo Emerson). This quote is very interesting. It means that we see symbols everywhere we go and that everything is a symbol, even us. I have never thought about this, have you? Symbolism is a key factor in the short story we read called To Build a Fire. A few symbols I found were the fire, the mans death, and the boys. Fire is the biggest symbol in my opinion; fire represents life. A quote I found illustrating the importance of fire is: "He treated the flame carefully. It meant life, and it must not cease", thought the narrator (75). Fire is a symbol for life because without it the narrator would die. The man was in the Yukon and it was 75 degrees below zero. In this bitterly cold climate most people would die, especially in the time period this story takes place. That is because they did not have very warm cloth back then; they used cloth made out of animal fur. If we compare the heat that animal fur produces to the heat that modern day winter jackets make the difference will be tremendous. Another thing is that fire is the only thing that could keep him alive that he had at his disposal. All the other things he had with him would not help on keeping him alive. Another symbol is the mans death. The death of the man could be a symbol for overconfidence or arrogance. The reason for this is because the man of Sulphur Creek had warned him that "no man should travel alone in that country after 5I0 below zero"

(70). The man was arrogant and though that he could confront the cold and get to his destination. The mans arrogance led to his death in the cold by himself. The final symbol is the boys. The boys could symbolize a goal that is very important and that anything would be done to try to reach it. A quote I found talking about the importance that this goal had for the narrator is: "He was headed for the old camp in Henderson Creek, where the boys were already" (65-66). The man died trying to reach the boys, and even when the man saw it was very cold where he was he did not stop he persisted on trying to reach the boys. The boys could also represent a reason to keep going. The narrator would have stopped when he felt the cold but he kept going because of the boys. To Build a Fire is a very symbolic story with many hidden symbols, for example the fire, the mans death, and the boys. People should pay more attention on what they see or read because not everything is what it seems.