"To Build a Fire" is a short story by American author Jack London. There are two versions of this story, one published in 1902 and the other in 1908.There's just one little problem: they've got at least nine hours of hiking ahead of them, and it's minus seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit. Like many of his stories, Jack London's "To Build a Fire" takes place in the snowy world of the Yukon, where it's so cold your spit freezes before it even hits the ground.He knows that he'll freeze to death if he doesn't dry his feet, so he tries to build a fire. Unfortunately, a pile of snow fall on the fire, putting it out. By this time, the man's fingers have become frostbitten, and he's unable to build himself another fire. The wolf-dog watches dispassionately as the man dies.London emphasizes the existential theme in “To Build a Fire” in several ways, the most important of which is his selection of the setting in which the story takes place. The story is set in the wilderness of the frozen Yukon during the harsh winter months when “there was no sun nor hint of sun” in the sky (118).
