The man proclaims "that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south, would just peep above the sky-line." (London 127). Contrasting, if a man and his dog were merely traveling a short trail beneath the sultry sun in Florida, the purpose and action of the story would be remarkably divergent. .
If not within that actual specific time period and stimulating circumstances of the story, the story would not have occurred. The setting happens to be the key element and driving force of the story and its' contents. As from the readers chair, not only does the setting engender emotional responses from the readers as well as the characters- it also plays its' own part in the story. Generally, whether a protagonist, antagonist or catalyst, the setting has the ability to mold the characters and their destiny. Immediately in "To Build a Fire", a reader can easily speculate that the environment is essentially a predetermined fate of the man. From London's naturalistic point of view, beings are victims to their environment. The main being in the story is not given a name, for that is irrelevant to the supremacy of nature. Being a "chechaquo" indulging in his first winter in the Arctic, he is indifferent and oblivious to his surroundings which ultimately lead to his death. He is warned by a more knowledgeable old-timing inhabitant from Sulfur Creek that "after fifty below, a man should travel with a partner." (London 134), yet he remains ignorant to the reality aside of his own. .
Fueling on his close-minded determination to arrive at the camp where his peers were rested, he is inattentive to his ill-considered preparation for his journey- claiming, "He would be in to camp by six o'clock; a bit after dark, it was true, but the boys would be there, a fire would be going, and a hot supper would be ready." (London 128). However, his minor mittens and moccasins soon proved futile to the ice and snow he was intending to travel miles across.
