To Build a Fire Characters

• eNotes
• quickNotes
• Salem on Literature
• eText (enhanced)
• Related Resources
• Group

To Build a Fire | Characters

Dog
The dog is a ‘‘big native husky’’ and the man’s only companion on the trail. While it depends upon the man for food and for warmth from campfires, the dog is ‘‘not concerned in the welfare of the man’’ and obeys him only to avoid being whipped. The dog is motivated by instinct. Critics Earle Labor and Jeanne Campbell Reesman describe the dog as a ‘‘foil’’ to the man. A foil is a character who sets off, or emphasizes, by way of contrast the traits of another character. In this case, the dog’s reliable instincts contrast with the man’s faulty human...

[The entire page is 621 words long]

Navigate

See Also:

• - Read the To Build a Fire text online.
• - To Build a Fire summary and study guide in the eNotes.

Tell a friend about To Build a Fire at eNotes.