To Build a Fire and other stories by Jack London

"To Build a Fire" is a short story by American author Jack London. The famous version of this story was published in 1908. Jack London published an earlier and radically different version in 1902 in which the protagonist survives his ordeal, and a comparison of the two provides a dramatic illustration of the growth of his literary ability. It is widely considered as a prime example of the naturalist movement and of a Man vs. Nature conflict.

Characters

There are only two characters in "To Build a Fire", a man and a dog, although some[who?] count Nature as a third character. In the story, Nature is portrayed as the antagonist - the foe against which the man is pitted for survival. However, Nature doesn't act deliberately – it simply is, and it is the man's own folly and arrogance that causes his death.