A Losing Battle

In the story, "To Build a Fire," the newcomer to the land, a chechaquo, had come to the realization that he was not invincible, but only a human as stubborn as an ox. The chechaquo displayed stubbornness when he laughed at the advice of the old-timer on Sulphur Creek who told him how cold it gets in the country. As a result of his stubbornness and poor choices, the man suffered a terrible death. Throughout the story, the man continues persistently to believe that he knows what he is doing, but learns he is weak against nature and the physical obstacles he must overcome. Finally, the man must face the fact that he has failed; nature had indeed defeated him.

The most important conflict found in "To Build a Fire" is man versus nature. Nature gave the man numerous obstacles such as: extreme cold, overcast conditions, and countless unsafe traps hidden throughout the land. At first, the man believes that the cold is something he can overcome, but later he learns nature is a higher authority which he cannot beat. However, the dog who travels with the man knows through its instincts that extreme weather like this is not something that can be defeated but something, rather, to be avoided. Due to this, the foolish man dies trying to fight a losing battle with nature. In the end, the dog is forced to travel onward by itself for its own survival.

Early in the story, it becomes very clear mother nature, with her mighty force, has a strong hold on what is to happen to the man. He is a newcomer to the land, a chechaquo, and this is his first time in this extreme cold region. Furthermore, the man chooses to travel light on foot rather than by sled and only carries with him the clothes on his back, some tobacco, a biscuit with bacon, and a pack of matches. While being warned, by an old-timer on Sulphur Creek, about traveling alone in the freezing cold, he sets out to meet his companions on the left fork of Henderson Creek, with only his dog. The man feels as if he has everything under control until