illustration fo a man in winter clothes lying on the snow under a tree with a dog standing near him

To Build a Fire

by Jack London

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What happens to Tom Vincent at the end of "To Build a Fire"?

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In the original 1902 version of Jack London's "To Build a Fire," the unnamed protagonist freezes to death in the Yukon wilderness, succumbing to the cold while his dog eventually leaves him. However, in a 1908 version, the protagonist, named Tom Vincent, survives after enduring severe frostbite, managing to limp back to camp with scarred hands and feet, having learned a harsh lesson about survival and never traveling alone.

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The other answer replied that the protagonist of "To Build a Fire" is called simply "the man" and that he froze to death at the end of the story. However, there are two different versions of "To Build a Fire."

One version was published in The Century Magazine in 1908. In this version, the protagonist does not, in fact, freeze to death as stated in the other answer. He is given a name, Tom Vincent, and is allowed a less brutal fate than London gives the unnamed "man" in the other version. Here is how this version ends:

Again he sat down and shuffled the bunch of matches on his knees. . . . At the second scratch the bunch caught fire, and he knew that if he could stand the pain he was saved. He choked with the sulphur fumes, and the blue flame licked the flesh...

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of his hands. . . .

All that night he stayed by the fire, and it was late the next day when he limped pitifully into the camp on the Cherry Creek Divide.

In a month's time he was able to be about on his feet, although the toes were destined always after that to be very sensitive to frost. But the scars on his hands he knows he will carry to the grave. And—"Never travel alone!" he now lays down the precept of the North.

This version, which seems to have a tone suitable for young readers, was actually published in a magazine for adults. Its focus appears to be on giving readers survival advice for the Yukon.

The version London wrote second was published in 1902 in the Youth's Companion magazine for children. Paradoxically, its conclusion is the more grim of the two:

Then the man drowsed off into what seemed to him the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known. The dog sat facing him and waiting. . . . But the man remained silent. Later, the dog whined loudly. And still later it crept close to the man and caught the scent of death. This made the animal bristle and back away. A little longer it delayed, howling under the stars that leaped and danced and shone brightly in the cold sky. Then it turned and trotted up the trail in the direction of the camp it knew, where were the other food-providers and fire-providers.

Thus, it can be said that in "To Build a Fire," the man freezes to death, but in a different version of the story, Tom Vincent is able to limp home with scarred hands and feet after learning what is probably one of the most painful lessons of his life.

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If you are referring to the main character in this story, he is known as the man.  At the end of the story, he freezes to death.

Check the E-notes link on the characters in the story for clarification. 

"Then the man drowsed off into what seemed to him the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known. Later, the dog whined loudly. And still later it crept close to the man and caught the scent of death. This made the animal bristle and back away." (London)

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