To Build a Fire, written in 1908, is the story of a vagrant and foolhardy man who traverses a lonely track in extremely cold condition with no companion, but a dog. All his stories exude adventure, fortitude and a desire to stand up to the unpredictable hazards of Nature. Later, he studied on his own, in public libraries, and used his skill to write novels and short stories for commercial considerations. He wandered around like a tramp, living it out in the rough, and enduring the suffering and destitution with remarkable sense of adventure. He opted out of school at the age of fourteen, and decided to explore America – its seas, vast swathes of snow-covered land, its wrenching wilderness, and above all, its perplexing beauty. Jack London’s early life was ravaged by parental neglect, poverty, and lack of formal education. The brush with the beauty, and the boorishness of Nature that outline this story is portrayed with different hues and intensities in most of his other novels. Many of us would recall reading ‘The Call of the Wilde’ in our early school days.
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