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To Build a Fire by Jack London
is our April 2024 Short Story/Novella Read.

This discussion will open on April 1

Beware Short Story Discussions will have Spoilers

I distinctly remember this being the first thing I ever read as a school assignment that I really enjoyed reading... 6th grade I think. Before "To Build a Fire", it was baseball card stats, Mad magazine, and comic books (horror- not supers) exclusively for me. After "To Build a Fire", books were seen as something I wanted to spend time with.

I have always been a big fan of Jack London and had been wanting to read this story for a while. I love survival in nature stories as well as books that have cold climates. Thus I really enjoyed the atmosphere this story set. You could feel the cold seeping off the page. Even though it is not that cold here reading this made me want to bundle up before a cozy fire.

While this story was indeed quite bleak in nature I have to admit ultimately I found it difficult to sympathize with the main character. For one there were so many cringeworthy mistakes he made. Though at one point he alludes to having been in cold places before he came across as not really knowing what he was doing. Or his arrogance just clouded his judgement. That is one theme I have detected in Jack London’s works. The way in which ego leads to mans downfall.

On the one hand London really celebrates man’s strength, will, power, individuality, and masculinity. London very much favors and admires physical prowess. On the other hand he also acknowledges the way in which man can be his own worst enemy. I am not sure if London is showing a reverence for natures power over man or displaying his idea that man is so powerful that it is only man himself that can bring him down.

I think this is a wonderful short story. I have read is multiple times. The first encounter was in school at about the age of 12 or 13. It really hit me hard at that age. So tragic! But the story has stood up well to rereading at more mature ages as well.

I have read this story countless times and it is a story where the reader can pick up new bits and pieces each time. Ultimate story of survival and man vs nature. I think that London does such a superb job of selling this tale, and making it so vivid to the reader. Like Lynn said, such a tragic tale but it seems like the newcomer prospector ignores so much and so it is an ultimate tale of trying to brave and figure out the elements. I remember also seeing the short film adaptation narrated by Orson Welles (I believe). Anyhow, To Build a Fire is a fantastic, although tragic and raw tale. Definitely worth a reread for sure.

This is my first time reading it and I enjoyed it. It's a survival thriller I would say, I was expecting he would make it to the boys or the boys to find him until the end. But anyway, that's not the point of this story I guess.
I loved the mercury analogy!

Well, this was my first re-read in about 40 years. Such a great story.

Based on a recent read of The Sea Wolf plus the description of the prospector in the 3rd paragraph of "To Build a Fire", I just laughed to myself: this guy's doomed.

Of course, I already knew the ending; so I'm cheating a bit :-)

From what I've seen, a lot of London's characters are "without imagination". This flaw seems inevitably fatal in his stories... but only for humans. The dog is blessed with natural instincts; left to his own devices, he is immune to the consequences of not having that kind of imagination.

Regarding an unimportant detail... does anyone here routinely walk/hike at 4 miles an hour (or better) pace? I walk, hike, and jog pretty routinely; four miles an hour is a fast walk for me - if my mind wanders too much I'll slow a bit below that pace. I can't imagine maintaining this pace in a foot of snow while encumbered with clothing meant for -50F.

Lynn wrote: "I think this is a wonderful short story. I have read is multiple times. The first encounter was in school at about the age of 12 or 13. It really hit me hard at that age. So tragic! But the story h..."

I really enjoyed this one. I'm not always a great Jack London fan, but liked this one a lot! I'm sure I should have/could have read it in school, but don't remember it at all.

Lynn, when you speak of remembering stories you read at age 12-13 -- the one that hit me hard was The Lottery. We read that in eighth grade, and I've never forgot it OR Shirley Jackson! It's interesting how things you read when you're young influence your life :)

Wayne wrote: "Regarding an unimportant detail... does anyone here routinely walk/hike at 4 miles an hour (or better) pace? I walk, hike, and jog pretty routinely; four miles an hour is a fast walk for me - if my mind wanders too much I'll slow a bit below that pace. I can't imagine maintaining this pace in a foot of snow while encumbered with clothing meant for -50F."

On a good day I have walked a 15-minute mile, but there is no way I can do that wearing heavy winter gear in a foot of snow (or even a few inches, for that matter). It would take a lot of fuel and energy to manage that pace in adverse conditions. Especially in unfamiliar territory.

Also, if he was keeping such a brisk pace, maybe if he had slowed down a bit and been more careful the tragedy wouldn’t have happened. But then, we wouldn’t have this story.

Wayne wrote:The dog is blessed with natural instincts; left to his own devices, he is immune to the consequences of not having that kind of imagination

As much as I enjoy Jack London I will admit there is much we do not see eye to eye on. The way he portrays nature I am often conflicted about. While nature is a prominent setting in many of London’s stories and we writes about it well London is a strong believer in the idea of man as conquerer of nature.

While London does acknowledge the dog had greater ability to survive the conditions he also puts forth the idea of the dog as “dumb beast�� acting blindly on instinct with no knowledge or understanding of why it does what it does.

I do not know if there is an intentional irony in the fact that the “dumb beast�� is the one who survives while the man, the one who presumably is supposed to have intelligence and the ability to make willful choices is the one who dies and mostly through the act of making a series of bad decisions.

The dog does get the last laugh.

Silver wrote: I do not know if there is an intentional irony in the fact that the “dumb beast�� is the one who survives while the man, the one who presumably is supposed to have intelligence and the ability to make willful choices is the one who dies and mostly through the act of making a series of bad decisions.

That's a great point. My take is that the irony is intentional. Maybe "man as conqueror of nature" is a more exciting theme when it isn't easily accomplished (or always accomplished).

Heather L wrote: It would take a lot of fuel and energy to manage that pace in adverse conditions.

Well, he did bring bacon.

Wayne wrote: "Heather L wrote: It would take a lot of fuel and energy to manage that pace in adverse conditions.

Well, he did bring bacon."

ROFL 😂

Silver wrote: "I am not sure if London is showing a reverence for natures power over man or displaying his idea that man is so powerful that it is only man himself that can bring him down."

Interesting thought, Silver! I share your feelings about him, and the way he portrays dogs in his stories. It's my guess that he was conflicted himself, and at the time this was written, animals as dumb beasts was the prevailing mentality.

What I love about this story is the dog wins. I love how the outcome flips the script on so many of the tragic dog stories I read as a kid.

I agree with Terris about the impact of The Lottery. I had a similar experience. But this one is right there with it for me. Ever since I read it as a kid, I never forgot it. It always came to mind when I was in severe cold. It served as a lesson to respect the elements. (I always learned better from stories!)

I don't think I have read this before, but school was long ago so I might have. All along I thought this would be about the hubris of man. London tells us that the man didn't have an imagination, so he couldn't seem to think ahead to what he would do if any part of his plan didn't work out. It is a very compelling narrative and I agree with Silver that the cold seemed visceral and real even though I'm not cold. Additionally I thought the four mile per hour pace was unrealistic in the snow. I can maintain that pace on a treadmill, but outside it's very hard and I don't know if I could do it in ungroomed snow. On the other hand maybe I could if that's what is keeping me from freezing to death. I think this will be a story that stays with me especially if I am ever caught outside in freezing snowy weather.

Silver wrote: "I love survival in nature stories as well as books that have cold climates."


Yes, please!

My favourite niche genre. Survival self dependence in extreme climates. Somehow cold is more interesting than warm. I am really only writing “extreme�� rather than ”cold�� to include The Martian.

My absolute favorite is
Fram over polhavet (Farthest North: The Incredible Three-Year Voyage to the Frozen Latitudes of the North). Wow!

I just could not get enough when I finished reading it and picked up På ski over Grønland. Omarbeidet utgave (the adventures part of The First Crossing of Greenland). I want to read Through Siberia too.

I also read a number of other account of the Fram-journey Selv-anden paa 86°14' by Hjalmar Johansen and Framgutterne : tre aar gjennem skrugar og nat : beretning om nordpolsfærden by Bernhard Nordahl

I even hunted down a two volume 1897 print of Fram over polhavet for a gift to share this little known book.

Number two favorite is Farlig tomandsfærd (Two Against the Ice )

Also 5-star: In the Land of White Death: An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic by Valerian Albanov (definitely read Farthest North first. Albanov reades it).

Please share your favorites/recommendation. Anything including short stories.

I read this fine story a while back when it was nominated in the old system.

“Nature cannot be fooled�� (Richard P. Feynman) Some things are non-negotiable. Some people do not understand this.

I wish we would read more Jack London. In Into the Wild McCandless read and reread "To Build a Fire,�� “An Odyssey of the North,�� “The Wit of Porportuk.�� To me that sounds like clear recommendations.

What a captivating short story. For me, the hybris that the man displayed underestimating nature and disregarding the advice of a wiser, older man is almost as bad as his inability to imagine. To imagine the worst case scenarios and contemplate his "weaknesses as a creature affected by temperature". The dog on the other hand appears much more humble and in touch with his survival instincts. Even though he cannot grasp the meanings of temperature and degrees of frost like the man could, the dog understands the meaning of cold: "It was the time to lie
in a hole in the snow and to wait for this awful cold to stop".
I enjoyed reading this.

J_BlueFlower wrote: "I read this fine story a while back when it was nominated in the old system.

“Nature cannot be fooled�� (Richard P. Feynman) Some things are non-negotiable. Some people do not unde..."

If you haven’t read them I recommendTales of the Klondike by Jack London

Also for cold survival books The Revenant by Michael Punke is really good and though not a novel I loved Never Cry Wolf: The Amazing True Story of Life Among Arctic Wolves by Farley Mowat

Thank you

Silver wrote: "If you haven’t read them I recommendTales of the Klondike by Jack London "

I hope we can read more of his stories in the group, but that requires someone add them to the master list.

J_BlueFlower wrote: "Thank you

Silver wrote: "If you haven’t read them I recommendTales of the Klondike by Jack London "

I hope we can read more of his stories in the group, but that requires someone add them to the ..."


The Scarlet Plague by Jack London has been nominated a couple of times, but did not win. I read and enjoyed it. It's a novella length book, 72 pages, published in (1912) so it would now qualify as Old School.

Lynn wrote: "The Scarlet Plague by Jack London has been nominated a couple of times, but did not win...."

I read that after seeing it nominated. It is a fine story, but if you already have read a load of post-apocalyptic books there is nothing new. London did guess a world population of 8 billion people in 2013. That is a pretty sharp hit specially for a shot fired all the way back from 1912.

I read The Scarlet Plague pre-Covid, before people were burnt out on that sort of tale and think I seconded it when it was nominated.

Last year I read The Road, a biographical work about the time he spent riding the rails as a hobo across the US and Canada. It reads like a collection of short stories.

This month I finished A Collection of Stories, which was a Kindle freebie. It is actually several essays and two one-act plays. I would especially recommend the opening essay, “The Human Drift,�� as it is quite relevant to current events. “That Dead Men Never Rise Up�� was entertaining.

Heather L wrote: "...which was a Kindle freebie...."

I think you can download all of Jack London for free at Gutenberg in Kindle format too:



I am a bit surprised to see that The Iron Heel is his fourth most downloaded. Very special alternate history-like book with a socialist mass movement in the United States.

The Librivox audiobook is the best Librivox book I have heard

As I read the story, I realized I had read it before, maybe in high school or college many years ago. I didn't remember enough of the details to remember how it ended but as the story progressed I was pretty sure that the guy wasn't going to make it to see his friends in their cabin.

On the surface this might look like a "Man vs Nature" story, but I wonder if it isn't really "Man vs Himself." London portrays Nature not as a malevolent force to be grappled with, but rather as a set of conditions that should be understood and treated with the appropriate respect. The man in the story could have survived by, as suggested by the more experienced old-timers, 1) having traveling companions or 2) not traveling in those conditions at all. It is not just nature that kills the man in the end, it is his own hubris.

The dog meanwhile would have preferred to stay by the fire. I'm not sure he was meant to be perceived as a "dumb beast" but rather as an animal who was much closer to nature and able to respect the idea that brazenly striking out in dangerous conditions could be fatal. The dog doesn't have the gift of language or what humans might consider "higher thought" but that in a way is what saves its life - it doesn't think about trying to conquer nature, it just tries to survive in the easiest way possible.

London lived in a time when many men thought that being a man meant exercising their superiority over nature. I think London's writings reflect an idea of being closer to nature, understanding it, and respecting the idea that it can kill you easily. London's works often reflect the idea that humans who fail to understand and respect nature often end up dead. His most famous novel, The Call of the Wild, is a perfect example of humans who understand nature and survive, as well as those who don't, contrasted with the animals who are much closer to nature and who innately place survival as their top priority rather than their egotistical desire to exercise the illusion of domination over their environment.

J_BlueFlower wrote: "Silver wrote: "I love survival in nature stories as well as books that have cold climates."


Yes, please!

My favourite niche genre. Survival self dependence in extreme climates...."

I would add
- The Terror by Dan Simmons
- Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
- Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr.
- At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft

What a great story, I think I will never forget it.