Jack London's To Build a Fire follows an unnamed protagonist, referred to only as "the man," as he travels the Yukon Trail during a violent storm of snow. Together with his wolfdog, husky, he decided to meet with friends at an old crossroads by six o'clock. The man, who had been warned not to travel alone in the Klondike, advances through the harsh climate of the terrain. He later falls into the snow in what appeared to be a safe place. With his feet and toes soaked, he lights a fire and begins to dry himself. The man lights a fire under a spruce to take the twigs and throw them directly onto the fire. Every time he pulled a twig, a branch spilled its load of snow, eventually extinguishing the fire. He grabs all his matches and lights them at once to set fire to a piece of bark; it soon goes out. The man decides to kill the dog and use its warm body to restore circulation, but fails to kill the animal and lets the dog go. The man tries to escape from the thought of freezing to death but quickly falls. He decides that he should face death in a more dignified manner; the man falls into a peaceful sleep. During the March 1986 issue of the Journal of Modern Literature, Lee Clark Mitchell of Princeton University opens his article “'Keeping His Head': Repetition and Responsibility in London's 'To Build a Fire'” by criticizing the narrative style of naturalism. Mitchell states that naturalism is a slow, boring and simple way to captivate an audience; and Jack London is the epitome of this description. Mitchell states: “[London's] methods of composition themselves arouse a certain skepticism; the speed with which he wrote, his suspiciously childish plots... convinced readers to ignore the technical aspects of h...... middle of paper ......ne that when read from an objective point of view the public is able to put itself in a position similar to that of man. A story about the man without a name and face to display leaves only his personality for readers to connect with. In “To Build a Fire” the determination of the man is the character of the story, through all the events that happen he is still willing to meet his friends, “the boys”, by six o'clock. While it took another writer's opinion to help me understand the true intentions of London's "To Build a Fire," my appreciation for the piece grew along with my understanding of what distinguishes naturalism from other styles of writing. Works Cited Mitchell, Lee Clark. "'Keeping your head': Repetition and responsibility in London's 'To Build A Fire'." Journal Of Modern Literature 13.1 (1986): 76. Premier Academic Research. Network. February 18. 2012.