To Build a Fire Themes

In "To Build a Fire," Jack London contrasts the main character's civilized sense of "judgment" against the wolf dog's more primitive "instinct" (13). While the man's judgment seems to draw on his p...

Right there in the third paragraph of "To Build a Fire," the narrator tells us all about the "trouble" with the man, which is that he is "without imagination" (3). Now out in the cold Yukon, you pr...

For much of the century before Jack London started writing, Americans often wrote about how a return to nature would allow us to reach some sort of transcendent state or bliss (we're looking at you...

Spoiler alert: the man eventually dies because he's been foolish. But the reason "To Build a Fire" is so complex is that despite his foolishness, the man shows great perseverance. In fact, the long...

Throughout "To Build a Fire," the man exhibits quite a bit of pride in his abilities, and this sense of pride is connected to his sense of being a Man with a capital M. Ultimately, the man seems to...