The fiction of London, in tandem with the work of Frank Norris, Stephen Crane, and Hamlin Garland, helped to shape an American naturalism, a particular strain of scientific realism that was influenced by European writers of the later nineteenth century, particularly the French writer Emile Zola, who described the role of the novelist as that of “a scientist, an analyst, an anatomist” who interprets reality through the application of scientific determinism. In “To Build a Fire,” London places his protagonist in a harsh natural setting that tests to the limits his ability to survive in the wilderness.

The style of this particular brand of realistic fiction depends on the cold, objective presentation of detail that respects the force and power of nature and reduces the individual to a position of relative insignificance. The central character of London’s story is a vain creature, supremely and ironically confident of his ability to survive.

The story is carefully structured around the building of several fires. The first two fires the tenderfoot builds are merely matters of convenience, when he stops on his journey to rest and eat. In both instances, the dog is reluctant to leave the safety of the fire. The third fire is built to stave off an emergency because the man has gotten his lower body wet. This fire is foolishly built, however, because the tenderfoot has no foresight or common sense.

The fourth and final fire the tenderfoot attempts to build is crucial to his survival, but he is too far gone to accomplish this task. His hands are by then too frozen to manipulate his matches, and his mind is so far gone that he cannot fully understand the seriousness of his peril. All he can do is believe in the possibility of his survival. The story provides an interesting study in the psychology of an unhinged mind.

London’s story depends for its effect on situational irony. An ironic strain that runs throughout the story is the tenderfoot’s sense of superiority and contempt for the old trapper on Sulphur Creek. The irony is dramatic in that the reader soon realizes that the old man was right, a realization that escapes the tenderfoot until the very end of the story.

The story unfolds in the Klondike region of the Yukon Territory in Canada, which was the epicenter of a gold rush in the late 1800s. Gold was discovered there in 1896, and by 1899, thousands of prospectors had swarmed the area. Located in northwestern Canada near the Alaskan border, the Klondike shares a similar latitude with lower Siberia. Winters are brutally cold, with temperatures often plunging to fifty degrees below zero. One prospector noted in a letter that his thermometer hit sixty-five degrees below zero, the lowest it could measure, and it stayed there for several days.

At the age of twenty-one, just twelve days after news of the gold strike reached the United States, London and his brother-in-law set out for the Klondike. The journey to the gold fields was arduous. Many prospectors, including women, traversed the Chilkoot Pass, where they had to haul equipment and supplies up a steep trail. Some used sleds, but many, like London, carried the load on their backs. He would haul a load up a mile, leave it, and then return for another, repeating the process multiple times. One woman recounted that the trail was only about two feet wide with loose snow on either side. She mentioned that anyone who slipped off the trail was never seen again. After overcoming the pass, prospectors had to float their belongings down a river to Dawson and the gold digging sites.

Numerous people and animals perished on the trail. White Pass was notoriously known as Dead Horse Trail due to the stench of decaying horses along the path. Additionally, prospectors faced the threat of avalanches. In one incident, a dog named Jack survived eight days under the snow before being rescued by men. This event occurred in 1898, the same time London was in the Klondike, leading some scholars to believe that this dog might have inspired London’s stories about arctic dogs. Most prospectors found that all the prime claims had already been taken by the time they reached the gold fields, leaving them disheartened. However, many cherished the adventure itself.

Newcomers to the gold fields were called chechaquas, and they had to quickly learn how to survive, especially during the harsh winter months. By the time they reached the Klondike, most were already physically and mentally resilient from overcoming numerous challenges. They first had to transport their supplies up a mountain pass trail, then cut down trees to construct a raft or boat to navigate the treacherous river rapids. Once they arrived, they needed to build a cabin for shelter and gather enough wood to stay warm. Only after completing all these tasks could they begin mining for gold.

The mines were "placer" mines, where prospectors either panned for gold or used wooden boxes with screens, similar to kitchen strainers. They would shovel dirt into the box, swish it around, let the water drain out, and then search for small gold pieces in the remaining wet dirt. Jack London only found "fools gold," or iron pyrite, which resembles gold but is worthless. However, his year in the Klondike gave him invaluable material for his renowned novels, White Fang and The Call of the Wild, as well as his short story, "To Build a Fire."

In the story, London notes that miners traveling in winter carried their food inside their clothes next to their skin to keep it from freezing. The man in the story has two biscuit and bacon sandwiches inside his shirt. He remarks on how good the grease tastes, which is unsurprising since people need extra calories and fat to help insulate against the cold. Thin individuals often struggle in extreme cold because they lack the insulating layer of fat that helps maintain body warmth. A high-fat diet is common in northern regions, as fat helps keep the body's core temperature from dropping too low and risking hypothermia.

Building and maintaining a fire was essential for survival in the Klondike. Prospectors were familiar with fire-building basics because, in the 1890s, many homes lacked modern electrical or gas heating and relied on wood or coal stoves. In the story, the man knows how to build a fire and has a small one to warm him while he eats lunch. However, he makes a critical error when he builds his second fire under an evergreen tree. As he gathers tinder, he shakes the tree, causing snow from the branches to fall and extinguish his fire. Mistakes like these could have life-or-death consequences in the wilderness.

Equally significant in the narrative is the peril of getting wet in extreme cold. London explains that while streams completely freeze, small springs continue to flow and do not freeze. However, these springs are concealed by snow, making it easy for a traveler to step into one unknowingly. This is precisely what happens to the man in the story. His feet become wet, stripping away their insulation, and they start to freeze. The ability to build a fire becomes crucial when someone gets wet in extremely cold conditions. The man's failure to build a fire ultimately leads to his demise, but the dog, which also gets its feet wet, knows how to respond. Instinctively, the dog licks its feet to keep them warm and bites off the ice chunks between its paw pads. Natural selection has ingrained this behavior in dogs, though the dog only understands that its feet will hurt if ice accumulates. London emphasizes that while the dog instinctively knows how to save itself, the man's knowledge is insufficient to save him in the harsh Klondike environment.

The setting is integral to the characterization and plot, as one key theme is the struggle between man, dog, and nature, highlighting how people may not be as well-equipped to survive in the wilderness as they might believe. The prospectors from the lower forty-eight states were unaccustomed to the severe cold and general hardships, leading many to perish in the Klondike.

After the gold rush in the Klondike peaked in 1900, most of the prospectors departed. Today, adventurers can take tours of the Klondike, which are significantly safer than the original prospectors' journeys.

‘‘To Build a Fire’’ tells the tale of an unnamed man journeying through the Klondike territory in the winter to join his companions at a mining camp. Disregarding the advice of an old-timer, he undertakes the trek alone with only a dog, despite the extreme cold. Due to a series of unfortunate events, the man succumbs to the freezing temperatures before reaching the camp.

Point of View

Point of view refers to the narrative perspective from which a story is told. The point of view in ‘‘To Build a Fire’’ is third-person omniscient. This means the narrator is external to the story and refers to the characters using third-person pronouns (‘‘he,’’ ‘‘the man,’’ ‘‘the dog,’’ ‘‘it’’) and occasionally comments on their actions and personalities. An omniscient narrator is all-knowing, able to reveal not only what the characters are doing and saying but also their thoughts. In ‘‘To Build a Fire,’’ the narrator shows that the man is observant and cautious enough to watch for treacherous cracks in the river trail. However, the narrator also notes that the man’s ‘‘trouble’’ is his lack of reflection and imagination, meaning he never contemplates his own mortality and cannot fathom that the severe cold is more than just uncomfortable. Similarly, the narrator describes the dog's thoughts, noting that the animal senses the temperature is dangerously below minus fifty degrees Fahrenheit and feels no affection for the man.

Setting

The setting encompasses the time and place of a story, as well as the social conditions of the characters. Although ‘‘To Build a Fire’’ does not specify the exact date or country, references to the Klondike, the Yukon River, cities like Dawson, and an ‘‘old claim’’ on Henderson Creek suggest the story is set in the Klondike region of Canada near Alaska during the ‘‘gold rush’’ that began in 1897. The most critical aspect of the setting is that it occurs in the far north during winter, where temperatures can plummet to minus seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit and the sun does not rise for days. The man, a chechaquo or newcomer to the region, is unprepared for the harsh cold due to his inexperience and lack of imagination.

Style

The style of a story refers to the manner in which its ideas are conveyed—specifically, the selection of words and the structure of sentences. In "To Build a Fire," one notable aspect of the style is the use of repetition. Certain words and actions are reiterated to underscore the extreme cold and the gravity of the man’s situation. The word "cold" appears frequently, starting with the opening line: "Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray . . . ," and concluding with a reference to the "cold sky" in the final paragraph. Throughout the story, the man repeatedly expresses astonishment at the weather's frigidness. This repetition of words and actions enhances the sense of severe cold: for instance, whenever the man removes his mittens, his fingers quickly become numb, forcing him to "thresh his arms back and forth" to restore sensation.

The old-timer’s advice against traveling alone is reiterated several times, adding a sense of impending doom to the narrative. The phrase "it happened" is used ominously to introduce the two critical events—first, when the man falls through the ice, and second, when his fire goes out. Literary critics have observed that this repetition creates a cumulative effect, making the man's death by freezing feel unavoidable.

Naturalism

"To Build a Fire" is often described as a naturalistic story. Naturalism is a literary movement that emerged in the late nineteenth century. Influenced by scientific determinism and Darwin’s theory of evolution, naturalism asserts that human beings are shaped by their heredity and the laws of nature, and are thus governed by their environment and physical constitution rather than by spirituality or reason. In "To Build a Fire," the man, as a naturalistic character, lacks imagination. Although he attempts to survive using reason, he is ultimately overpowered by the forces of nature.

"To Build a Fire" is written in the straightforward style of naturalism. It reads more like a report than the elaborate fiction typical of other early twentieth-century authors. London employs short sentences, often combining them to form longer ones. Although this results in somewhat choppy prose, the story is so captivating that the reader hardly notices the brevity of the sentences. This style anticipates the modernist writing of Ernest Hemingway and Raymond Chandler, who also convey stories with few words, ensuring each one is significant.

London's style is further shaped by American realism, which focuses on detailed descriptions to make characters seem lifelike. This influence is particularly evident in his depiction of the man's mouth and chin, where the cold freezes his breath into his beard and mustache, forming a frosty powder. London also describes how the man chews tobacco, noting that "the muzzle of ice held his lips so rigidly that he was unable to clear his chin when he expelled the juice." Consequently, London continues, "the result was that a crystal beard of the color and solidity of amber was increasing its length on his chin. If he fell down it would shatter itself, like glass, into brittle fragments.... It was the penalty all tobacco chewers paid in that country." These details enhance the story's realism and engagement.

The author examines the effects of extreme cold on humans, noting that the man's pace of four miles per hour kept his blood circulating to his extremities. However, when he stops, his hands and feet quickly begin to freeze because, as London explains, he is scarcely shielded from the cold of outer space due to the thin air at high altitudes. London likens the man's blood to the dog, saying, "The blood is alive, like the dog, and like the dog it wanted to hide away and cover itself up from the fearful cold." Indeed, blood does retreat from the limbs in cold conditions to keep the body's core warm. This attention to detail is characteristic of a scientific literary naturalist presenting a specimen for analysis. London adopts a purely naturalistic approach to the man's predicament, with the narrator offering no sympathy and remaining entirely neutral in recounting the man's battle against the intense cold.

Subsequent writers dismissed the naturalist perspective because it felt too detached and clinical. It failed to evoke strong emotions beyond mild sorrow. However, London narrates the tale of a dying man in a manner that piques interest, if not compassion, drawing readers into his scientific exploration of hypothermia and the man's fight for survival, akin to everyone's daily battles to endure and triumph. The path the man takes might symbolize one's personal journey through life. Along this journey, some achieve success, others falter, and some persist until the very end, when death ultimately claims all.