Throughout the story, the natural world is presented as unemotional and unaware of the fate of the man. This literary depiction of nature reflects Naturalism’s understanding of a harsh, yet realistic natural world. Contrary to other literary movements, Naturalism views nature without sentiment and without projecting human characteristics of love, care, and agency onto the natural world. This understanding of nature is clearly embodied in the character of the dog that is indifferent to the man and his fate. To the dog, the man is a source of food and protection only, and not a companion. The dog cannot feel any emotion about the death of the man, and the dog quickly seeks out other humans who will provide the food and shelter it needs. One human is indistinguishable from another in the dog’s mind. Many people who emphasize a unique connection between a specific human and a specific animal view dogs and other pets sentimentally. Therefore, the relationship, or lack thereof, between the man and the dog in this story effectively communicates London’s theme of the indifference of nature. Naturalism rejects the literary movement Transcendentalism, an influential philosophy in American thought, which emphasized unique connections between nature and humanity and focused on the souls of humans as open to the influence of nature as a spiritual force.
Related Themes from Other Texts
Indifferent Nature ThemeTracker
Indifferent Nature Quotes in To Build a Fire
High up in the tree one bough capsized its load of snow. This fell on the boughs beneath, capsizing them. This process continued, spreading out and involving the whole tree. It grew like an avalanche, and it descended without warning upon the man and the fire, and the fire was blotted out! Where it had burned was a mantle of fresh and disordered snow.
The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death.
Later, the dog whined loudly. And still later it crept close to the man and caught the scent of death. This made the animal bristle and back away. A little longer it delayed, howling under the stars that leaped and danced and shone brightly in the cold sky. Then it turned and trotted up the trail in the direction of the camp it knew, where were the other food-providers and fire-providers.
