To Build a Fire
what is the authors purpose in the story
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Jack London specialized in stories about the wilderness. His running theme involved the raw majesty and power of the elements. Naturalism was London's mantra and this story is a perfect example of this. In "To Build a Fire" the setting is in the Yukon. It is cold, merciless and wild. The man, who does not even have a name, is secondary to the setting. London wants to show the fragility of man in the natural world.