How Does Jack London Celebrate The Unyielding Yukon Climate?

In “To Build a Fire”, by Jack London, the man is unable to withstand the unyielding Yukon climate because of his inability to recognize danger and his lack of imagination. In the beginning of “To Build a Fire”, the man is trekking in the snow covered Yukon hoping to reach camp by nightfall when he spits and it solidifies mid air, due to the below freezing temperatures. When he spits into the air, “There was a sharp, explosive crackle that startled him” (8). The man fails to notice that he should not be traveling in such cold weather, even after his own spittle freezes. Subsequently, the man does not succeed in sustaining a fire because his hands are numb and a piece of moss extinguishes the fire, when he thinks about killing the dog for