What is the point of view in "To Build a Fire" by Jack London?

The point of view in Jack London's "To Build a Fire" is that of an omniscient narrator. The story itself is a cautionary tale about underestimating the force and danger of nature, and the narrator, unburdened by a narrative attachment to the story, is free to explore value judgement in regard to the action of the character. For example, the narrator points out that the protagonist's primary flaw is that he is "not able to imagine."

The narrator is also able to illustrate what many characters are feeling on an internal level. He does this in a very clever way by juxtaposing the carelessness of the protagonist with the instinctual caution of the dog. The dog is in touch with nature and knows what it is capable of, a disposition which ultimately turns out to tell "a truer tale than the man's judgement."

Jack London spent time as a young man in the unforgiving cold of the Yukon. He was in search of gold as a prospector.  After his experiences in the wilderness, London wanted his readers to understand the life of those obsessed with finding gold and defying nature.

His story “To Build a Fire” uses the conflict of the inexperience of man who arrogantly feels he can conquer the natural world versus the harshness of nature. The characters in the story are an unnamed man who is new to the Yukon and a dog who has no allegiance to the man. 

To the dog, the man is the fire and food provider.  The difference between man and animal issues from the instinctual ability of the dog and the foolish pride of the man. The dog knows that the weather is too  severe to travel; on the other hand, the man, given advice not to travel in the unbelievable cold  by an old timer, believes that he can survive anything with preparation.

The point of the view of the story is third person omniscient.  The narrator tells the story through the thoughts of the man; however, he also can see what goes through the point of view of the dog.  The contrast between the man and the dog’s thoughts allows the reader an unusual perspective:

"It [the dog] knew that it was no time for traveling.  Its instinct told it a truer tale than was told by the man’s judgment.”

When the man can go no further after his hands and feet freeze, the dog realizes that something is wrong with the man. After a time, it sniffs the man and smells death.  Then, the dog instinctively knows that it must go on and find the camp, fire, and food.

As an omniscient narrator, the author can actually made judgments about the decisions of the man.

“The trouble with him was that he was without imagination.  He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significance.”

The narrator allows no sympathy for the man since he overlooks the advice of an experienced prospector. In addition, the man makes careless mistakes which were fatal despite his arrogantly striking out against the indiscriminate deadly weather.  

Over one hundred years later, London’s story still makes his statement: No matter how much preparation a man makes to challenge nature--- if it chooses to send a tornado, tsunami, earthquake, or 100 degrees below zero--- the natural world will win.

What is the point of view in Jack London's "To Build a Fire" and how does it affect the story?

Jack London chose the omniscient point of view of narration for "To Build a Fire." The narrator does not participate in events or interact with characters but is able to know the thoughts of the man and the dog and report them dispassionately.

An example that demonstrates the omniscient point of view is found at the beginning of the story as the man sets out on his perilous journey. Though he has been warned by a local, an old-timer with plenty of experience, that it is too cold for foot travel, the narrator observes that "this fact did not worry the man." The man has not voiced his nonchalant attitude, but the narrator is aware of it and communicates it to the reader.

A second example of the omniscience of the narrator is found in the observation that "the animal was worried by the great cold." The dog does not have the power of speech, but the narrator has access to its thoughts.

The use of an omniscient narrator allows Jack London to present the story as a work of naturalism. Naturalist writers observed, in a generally dispassionate manner, that there are forces greater than human beings that sometimes work against them and overpower them. In the case of the man, the forces that work against the man are the extremity of the cold and his own lack of imagination and experience. The dog is able to survive because it possesses the instinct and experience that the man lacks as a newcomer to the Yukon.