In the short story To Build a Fire by Jack London, the main character would have survived in the bitter cold of the Yukon if he had had more imagination. The man was not well prepared for the severe cold weather since he was not dressed properly. His mittens were warm but not warm enough and his fingers froze; he did not have a facial covering and his face became frozen; and he only had moccasins on his feet.

In addition to not being well dressed, he only brought along one companion at his side. That one companion was a wolf dog which was incapable of saving the man’s life if he came into danger. The dog was of no help to the man when he fell into the water and his legs and hands were freezing. The dog could not light a fire to save the man’s life.

As well as having no useful companion, the man had just one mere piece of food. The only food that the man had was a biscuit wrapped in a handkerchief close to his chest where it froze anyway and he could not eat it. Therefore, the man in “To Build A Fire” could have survived in the Yukon if he had proper clothing, another person with him, and enough food to keep him alive.