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In Jack London's To Build a Fire the setting of the short story plays a significant role. Jack London uses specific techniques to establish the atmosphere and tone of the story. By introducing his readers to the setting, London prepares them for a tone that is depressed and fear-provoking. Isolated by an environment of frigid weather and doom, the author shows us how the main character of the story is completely unaware of his surroundings. …

…to man's intuitive thoughts, the instinctual ones that some men consider less valid because they come from the unconscious mind. His unwillingness to contemplate the extreme cold, the barely used trail, his dog's instincts, reflect the man's inability to view the whole picture. As London puts it "the man had no imagination" he thought only to keep moving and stay dry, then he would be fine, however the man in the end could do neither.