To Build a Fire

Through omniscient narration, the author is able to convey all characters’ thoughts. In “To Build a Fire,” this is important because it allows London to juxtapose the man’s reasoning against the dog’s instinct. The story begins with the man’s POV, but switches to the dog’s perspective when the author states that “the animal was depressed by the tremendous cold” (3). It is then noted that “the brute had its instinct” (3), and that the dog inherently knows it should remain near the warmth of fire when the temperature is this low.

The omniscient POV permits the author to cast judgment on the protagonist, stating that he is “quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances” (2). This criticism of the man is measured against the author’s appreciation for the dog’s natural instinct, through which it knows that “it was not good to walk abroad in such fearful cold” (7).

When the man dies, the POV again shifts to the dog, which recognizes “the scent of death” and then “trot[s] up the trail in the direction of the camp it knew, where were the other food-providers and fire-providers” (17).