The Battle With Nature In Ef's To Build A Fire

The Battle with Nature E.F. Schumacher once said that: “Man talks of a battle with nature, forgetting that if he won the battle, he would find himself on the losing side.” Humans need nature for survival and should, therefore, accept and respect all of nature’s power. "To Build a Fire" takes place in Yukon, on an extremely cold and grey winter day. An unnamed man travels alone, except with an unwilling dog, to the camp at Henderson Creek with his friends, "the boys". Travelling on such a cold day does not worry the man at all though, because he is "without imagination" (100). The dog, on the other hand, knows by its instincts that it is too cold to travel. As they walk, the man encounters plenty of trouble, including the struggle to …show more content…
He thinks about killing the dog for its warmth but is unable to do so with his frozen hands. Eventually, he gives up and accepts his death. However, the dog continues to travel to the camp, where it knows there is fire and food. In London 's famous short story "To Build A Fire", the man is unsuccessful in completing the journey to his desired destination because of the difficult situations nature brings to bear upon him.

The extreme setting is obviously one of the most powerful and important factors of the plot. From the beginning, the narrator starts the story by describing the setting: "Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey." (99), as well as, "there was no sun, nor hint of sun." (99). These strong descriptions set the gloomy mood and visual that causes readers feel more involved as they start to imagine