A Man's Stubborness

The story “To Build a Fire” is simply about a chechaquo man and his egotism. He was a very independent, confident, and stubborn man who was determined that he knew what was best for him in order to survive what nature had in store. This man was traveling the Yukon trail with only a husky by his side with the goal of finding gold. Later in the story we understand that his desire to find gold was put before his best interest.

This man was not familiar with the Yukon trail, but he was used to the cold winters. He was quite confident of his ability to handle the temperatures. During his travel the temperature was never above zero degrees. “He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances” (149). His first and most threatening mistake was traveling alone in the below freezing temperatures and in an area to which he was unfamiliar.

A man familiar with the area known as the old-timer on Sulphur Creek had warned him of the dangers of traveling alone. If the man would have had a traveling partner, they could have assisted each other in a time of need, such as building a fire. But, because the man ignored obvious dangers, he was too cold, wet, and numb, and he was unable to build the very fire that could have saved his life. The husky that was traveling with him even knew of the dangers in which they were immersed. Because of its instinct, the husky knew that it was too cold to travel, and the man should have known as well. The man should have also remembered and taking to heart what the old-timer had said to him. There were plenty of other travelers on the same trail that he could have accompanied, but he thought he knew what he was doing when he left alone.

In the end when the man lay on the ground fully aware that death was moments away, he realized that he should have listened to the advice of others, especially the old-timer. He should have traveled with a partner. If he had in fact listened to others he may have made it to camp as he had wanted and had set out to do. The lesson from this story is that when we are unfamiliar with a situation, we should listen to the people who are well versed in like conditions and take into consideration their thoughts and suggestions.


Sipiora, Phillip. "To Build a Fire." Reading and Writing about Literature. Pearson Education, Inc., 2002. 149-158.