Analysis Of The Dog's Instinct In 'To Build A Fire'

"To Build a Fire" follows an overly self-confident man and an instinctual dog who are traveling through the woods on a dangerously cold day. The reader learns of many instances where the man ignores the cold and continues traveling, blinded by his arrogance. There are many examples of the dog showing the reader the necessity of his instincts when faced with problems in the cold. The man is traveling without another person despite the others' advice, while the dog knows he should travel with the man for fire and food. This is only one example of the contrast between these two characters. Throughout this story, the dog shows how instinct is the driving force of survival, whereas the man shows how self-confidence hinders survival.
Though confidence can be helpful when venturing out alone in nature, the man is confident to a fault, and from

the start of the story, the man ignores the signs that show him that it is too cold for travel, while the dog is hesitant to do much of anything because of the cold. The man is chews tobacco and stops to spit some out. His spit freezes before it hits the ground (1813). The man notices that this means that it is colder than he initially thought, but instead of seeing this as a warning to travel back to the camp with the other men, he ignores the warning sign, and continues traveling (1813). The dog, on the contrary, is hesitant to travel in the cold at all. From the very beginning, the dog is "depressed" by the cold, and stays close to the man, hoping that they will stop to warm up (1814). These two characters act on two different motives: confidence and instinct. The man, though he knows it is colder than he expected, is overly confident and unwilling to admit that travel is reckless. Unlike the man, the dog knows that it is dangerous to be travelling in such cold because of his instincts, but since the man brought him out with him, he stays with him for safety.
While the man continues to ignore the extreme cold and keeps travelling, he overlooks the warning signs that the weather is too dangerous for travel, while the dog frantically tries to prevent ice from sticking between his toes. The man repeatedly rubs his nose and cheeks to bring feeling back into his face when it goes numb from the cold (1815). He writes the numbness off as something to look over and ignores this as a warning sign (1815). When the man and the dog pass over thick layers of snow and the man makes the dog walk over it before him, the dog steps in a spring, and he immediately starts to bite the ice that formed off his paws (1816). The different reactions by the man and the dog clearly show how the man is ignoring the intensity of the cold out of confidence of his abilities, while the dog is reacting to every situation the way he is because of his instincts.
The man's confidence continues to be an issue as he also does not listen to others' advice or warning, and the dog yearns for warmth. The man stops to eat his lunch and realizes that he needs to build a fire, so they can warm up while him and the dog rest (1816). While he eats, he begins to think about another man from "Sulphur Creek" that told him how cold the winters were in the country (1816). He did not take this seriously, thinking that he knew better even when he had never been to the country before (1816). When the man is finished eating and begins to travel again, the dog yearns for the warmth of the fire for his own sake (1817). The dog wants to wait until the cold passes and sit by the fire to stay warm to avoid the danger of travelling in such cold (1817). The man is so confident in himself even in situations that he has never endured, which causes him to make the mistakes that he does throughout the story. However, the dog is not thinking of the man. He is thinking of the safety of himself, and he knows, not based on confidence, but on instinct, that they need to stop and stay warm.
The man's confidence seems to be working in his favor until he steps in a spring hidden under the snow, and the dog begins to become wary of the man.

After the man had built one successful fire that was put out by snow falling from a spruce tree above them, he attempted and failed to build another (1819). He decided he would kill the dog to warm his hands by keeping them hidden from the cold in its carcass, and so he tried to lure it close to him by speaking softly to it (1820). The dog however noticed that this was suspicious, since the man only talked to the dog in a harsh way, and so he knew not to approach the man (1820). At this point, the man's confidence is not as prominent as it was when they began the trip. After his multiple failures of not paying attention to the climate around him and failing to build a fire to save himself, he is acting out of panic. When the man tries to call the dog to him in a softer tone, the dog takes this as a warning sign, since it is different from how the man had always acted before. The dog knows what to do in these situations, while the man is blinded by his confidence until it is too

late.
"To Build a Fire" describes the danger of self-confidence, and the importance of instinct. The two characters in this story contrast so greatly, and express how each one of these things, confidence and instinct, impact their lives. The man is so stubborn and sure of himself, even when there are signs of immense danger, while the dog is cautious of almost everything they do. This contrast is what leads the man to his doom; his arrogance causes him to make careless mistakes, and the reader can see his confidence diminish as he realizes that he is going to die. This story examines how in nature, confidence is not of any significance, and how instinct is the only force behind survival.