To Build a Fire by Jack London analyze Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

To Build a Fire by Jack London analyze - Essay Example Various literary devices such as repetition, flashback and irony help reveal the idea that the man in the story is foolish and that his foolishness leads to his death. Repetition is one of the most obvious literary devices employed by London in order to somehow instill in the reader that the man in the story persists in being stubborn about not heeding the repetitive instructions that nature gives him. One of the most recurring statements in the story is â€Å"It certainly was cold† (London). This particular line appears several times throughout the story, is repeatedly rephrased in many parts, and is portrayed in such vivid imageries of cold. One line that particularly refers to this recurring coldness is â€Å"Once in a while the thought reiterated itself that it was very cold† (London). This particular repetition actually serves as a constant reminder for the man in the story to stop or turn back lest it should be too late to avoid death. Nevertheless, the man goes o n and even thinks that the idea of the cold is funny and that trying to survive it is ridiculous: â€Å"What were frosted cheeks? A bit painful, that was all; they were never serious.† (London) Another instance of repetition that demonstrates the man’s folly is â€Å"Fifty degrees below zero was to him just precisely fifty degrees below zero† (London). This particular line shows how literal the man can get when it comes to interpreting the cold temperature. He knows that it is in fact cold but despite the repeating thoughts of coldness, he remains â€Å"without imagination† (London) and he cannot see through the â€Å"significances† of things. (London) Another particular instance of repetition that abounds in the story is found in the following line where the words â€Å"below† and â€Å"zero† are repeated several times somehow for the purpose of reminding this stubborn man that he must either turn back or die: â€Å"In reality, it w as not merely colder than fifty below zero; it was colder than sixty below, than seventy below. It was seventy-five below zero. Since the freezing-point is thirty-two above zero, it meant that one hundred and seven degrees of frost obtained.† (London) Still, the following line with the word â€Å"cold† repeated four times is one more instance where the author finally hints that the man’s foolishness perhaps run in the blood because somehow he has repeatedly ignored nature’s warnings: â€Å"This man did not know cold. Possibly all the generations of his ancestry had been ignorant of cold, of real cold, of cold one hundred and seven degrees below freezing-point.† (London) Moreover, it is also possible that the repetition in the story has the purpose of achieving a sort of â€Å"hypnotic impact† and to â€Å"produce a mood that is at once somber and sinister† (Labor & Hendricks). The idea of coldness repeated several times in the aforemen tioned lines somehow help create this â€Å"somber and sinister† mood, and may even foreshadow the cold death that the man is to experience toward the end of the story. There is also a hint of irony embedded in this repetition. The repetitive mention of the word â€Å"cold† and the other elements of cold somehow â€Å"reinforce the irony of the man’s failure to recognize [the cold’s] ‘extended’ reality† (Pizer). In short, the irony is that regardless of the fact that the

Public Administration;managing sustainable communities. Midterm exam Essay

Public Administration;managing sustainable communities. Midterm exam - Essay Example This organic kind of development was to accommodate 30,000 citizens within roughly 6,000 acres. A major transport route connected to every division. Stops were situated within the heart of activity, linking each region. Government structures were held within special consideration and they were provided with the locations that seemed or were believed to be the most prominent and easy access. Ebenezer Howard is the founder of Letchworth Garden City and the Garden City movement. In the year 1898, Ebenezer Howard was disgusted at the very distasteful living and functioning conditions within the belatedly 19th Century cities and municipalities. He wrote a manuscript outlining his notions for a totally new system of livelihood. The paperback, Tomorrow, A Peaceful Path to Real Reform, was afterward published again as Garden Cities of Tomorrow in the year 1902. According to McKenzie (1996), Howard envisioned building his Garden City from scratch on an undeveloped six-thousand-acre plot of land. At the center would be a city one thousand acres in area, along with roughly one-and-one-half within diameter. The city is depicted as circular, and crossed from center to circumference by six wide boulevards. At the center would be a five-and-one-half-acre Central Park surrounded by public buildings such as the town hall. Around this park would run a circular Crystal Palace, a glass arcade not unlike the modern shopping mall. Outside this arcade a series of circular streets lined with trees, houses, schools, and gardens would encircle the center. At the edge of the circular city would be the industries, the factories, warehouses, and coal and timber yards, all of which would face outward onto a circular railway encompassing the town and delivering goods to and from the city and its businesses. Outside this perimeter would be a five-thousand-acre belt of agricultural land that would be home to an additional two thousand people engaged in farming. This greenbelt,