In his article Crystal Beards and Dantean Influence in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire (II)”, author Russell Hillier makes the argument that London’s ‘To Build a Fire’ is not only highly allegorical, but is largely influenced by the works of Milton, specifically Dante’s Inferno. While it is widely known that London used much his personal experience in the bitterly cold and unforgiving Klondike when writing the story, it is equally obvious that London chose to incorporate certain parallels to Milton’s Hell, particularly the outer circle, which has terrible storms, and the inner circle, which has a subzero climate much akin to the Klondike. Comparatively speaking, it is quite clear that London’s main character views the harshness of the Klondike
