To Build A Fire character study The Man

In "To Build a Fire," Jack London expresses his perspective of the multitude of greenhorns who flocked to the yukon in a rush for gold. It is evident that he believed that these newcomers were too inexperienced and blinded by gold fever to survive the trip. Like many of them, "the Man" is driven by his own foolish ego to act irrationally and to not follow wise advice. Though his consience continually nags at him, …

…the wise advise which he had been given out of his head. The Man is symbolic of every living person in that we all usually learn things best the hard way. Fortunately for us, we often get another chance. We should cherish the advice and wisdom of others and blend them with our own knowledge to create our view of the world. If we could succeed at this, we would probably live much happier lives.