Answer and Explanation:
<u>"To Build a Fire" is a short story by author Jack London in which a man learns a most valuable lesson at a very high cost. The main character ignores how powerful nature is, thinking too much of his own skills.</u> He is far away from any town or village, in the middle of the Yukon trail - Yukon is a mountainous territory in Canada. The man is surrounded by three feet of snow, the cold weather harshly punishing those who are not properly prepared and protected. He has no company besides a dog. And, in reality, the dog seems to understand nature better than the man:
<em> the animal sensed the danger. Its fear made it question eagerly every movement of the man as if expecting him to go into camp or to seek shelter somewhere and build a fire. The dog had learned about fire, and it wanted fire. Otherwise, it would dig itself into the snow and find shelter from the cold air.</em>
At the beginning, the man builds a fire and makes himself warm, as well as the dog. However, he keeps on underestimating nature. As the story progresses, temperatures go lower and lower, and the man unfortunately falls into a pool of freezing water. He can no longer keep on walking to his destination. He has to build a fire again to dry his clothes, otherwise his blood will stop circulating. He does it, but snow falls from a pine tree and puts out his fire. His ideas and attempts to warm himself continue to be frustrated by nature to the point where he ends up dying.
<u>The man's actions at the beginning are marked by his arrogance. He believes he can beat nature. As soon as he realizes he is in danger of dying, he regrets his decision to come out alone. He is clearly taught the lesson that the natural world is not to be underestimated. Unfortunately, he pays for that lesson with his life.</u>
