Indifferent Nature Theme in "To Build a Fire"

In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” the setting plays a major role in how the story is told. London uses precise methods to show us the readers the tone and depth of the story. London starts the story off by describing the setting to us in fine detail. He prepares us for a dark depressed and fear-invoking experience. The main character starts off in an isolated environment of frigid weather and completely unaware of his surroundings. He was a newcomer to the land, he only knew the world he created for himself.

None of us ever been exposed to such degrees of chilling weather. So he really didn’t know what to expect especially from the unforeknown tundra that awaited him. London’s vivid imagination of the man's adventure was the determining factor of the man's survival paints an amazing picture. No matter where the man and dog went there was almost an immediate danger lurking around the corner.

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Which created an expectation for a disaster for every action the man-made. Sir Jack London expressed the use of death and dying to show us the man’s lack of warmth and terrible luck long his trip back home to his boys. He uses the word dying to show the man's decreasing ability to stay warm in the dangerous climate of Alaska. The man’s problem slowly gets worse one level at a time till he finally dies in the tundra. He makes sure we can picture the gloominess by repeating “ the day had broken cold and grey, supremely cold and grey”.

London says theses line over and over to stress the impact on the setting to the man and his dog. The neutral colors of his surroundings cause the man and dog to constantly fight depression. Due to the lack of imagination he only had his practical knowledge in this new area. His ignorance puts him at a disadvantage to adjust to frigid weather and constant stress that surrounds him. The man really never wanted to deal with the reality of things especially if it was unpleasant. But the extreme cold and the sunless sky had no effect on him. While he continued his journey down the trail. He was able to withstand the heinous temperature and climate, but he could face his biggest challenge within him. Which was ultimately what would he do if the inevitable was to happen. The man couldn’t handle coming complete understanding that his relaxed attitude to everything could be his possible downfall. His fear made him more selfish focused on only the actions and thoughts that are pleasurable to him.

An essay on bushfires as natural hazards

A bushfire is a firre burning out of control inthe open. Bushfires can burn using grass,scrub or forest (or a combination of these) forfuel. Unless quickly controlled, bushfirescan become large, spreading to affect forests,wildlife, crops, houses and other buildings,and human life. In Australia, some bushfireshave become major disasters.

Fires are not a recent occurrence in Australia.

Since the last Ice Age, bushfires have influencedthe development of the Australian land. Fires arean essential element in some Australian ecosystems,which need the intense heat of bushfires torelease the seeds from plants and replenishgrowth. Australian Aborigines used fires to assistthem in their hunting activities. It is believedthat the fire activities of Aborigines contributedto the development of an open woodland ecosystemin parts of south-eastern Australia.

Early European settlers used fire to assist inthe clearing of land for crops and as a means ofremoving stubble following cropping. However, inmore recent times, laws have been passedrestricting the lighting of fires for these purposes.

This has led to a more dense vegetation in manyrural areas and a greater accumulation of leaf andba rk litter on the ground. The litterprovides a significant amount of fuelfor fires if they do start.

Bushfires are one of the most destructiveforces of nature. Firefighters risktheir lives each year to control andeventually extinguish them. Eventhough bushfires can occur naturally,mainly as a result of lightning strikesand spontaneous combustion, most arestarted by the activities of people. Thisincludes cigarettes and matches beingcarelessly discarded, electricity cables,sparks from machinery and tools, andburning off. Arson has been the causeof some of the worst bushfires.

BUSHFIRESWHAT CAUSESBUSHFIRES?Eucalypts and bushfiresThere are two main types of bushfires:· Surface bushfires burn in grass, low shrubs andground litter. They can travel at high speed butare relatively easy to control.

· Crown bushfires occur when heat and flamesfrom a surface flre ignite the crowns of trees.

Crown fires spread rapidly if there are strong,hot winds and very dry vegetation. Hugeamounts of ¯ammable eucalyptus vapour,transpired from leaves, can create firebrandsthat engulf the tree crowns ahead of the firefront. This makes crown fires very dangerousand difficult to control.

As the map shows, bushfires usually occurin the less arid parts of Australia. Aridareas tend not to have enough fuel to sustainfires for any length of time. SoutheasternAustralia is particularly subject tobushfires. There are several reasons for this,including the following:1. Large areas are covered with sclerophyll vegetation.

The dominant trees are eucalypts,which have highly flammable oil in theirbranches. Eucalypts burn readily and canbecome so hot during fires that their sap boilsand the whole tree or shrub can explode inflames. This is not a problem for the plantspecies as most eucalypt varieties burn hotand fast as a means of releasing seeds onto thefire-cleared ground. Some burnt trees simplysend up new shoots from their stumps or rootsand grow to full-size trees again.

2. The area is also subject to prolonged periods ofbelow average rainfall and droughts. Many ofthe most severe bushfires have occurredduring droughts and El Niño events. Bushfiresand drought often occur together.

3. South-eastern Australia is also subject toheatwaves and strong northerly winds duringthe summer months. Two or three days ofheatwave weather can often provide conditionssuitable for bushfires to occur.

Bushfires can bring massive destruction, loss oflife and personal hardship to families and communities.

Individuals, community-based groupsand governments have responded to this hazardin many ways.

There are over 70 000 individuals who are volunteermembers of bushfire brigades. They domost of the fighting of bushfires. During times ofsevere bushfires they can be on duty for days at atime, sometimes facing extreme danger. Theymake a highly significant contribution to makingour communities safer.

The government has set up many agenciesthat work to protect the community when bush-fires occur. These include ®re brigades, police andambulance services, welfare agencies and theState Emergency Service. Governments can provideemergency financial assistance in severebushfires. The Bureau of Meteorology providesshort- and long-term weather forecasts to warnof bushfire dangers.

http://clearlyexplained.com/nature/earth/disasters/bushfires.htmlhttp://www.bom.gov.au/inside/services_policy/fire_ag/bushfire/bushfire.htm