Structure
…
The story is constructed using gradual tension and respects the five-element traditional plot, having an exposition, a rising action, a climax, a falling action and a resolution.
Title
The title of the short story may seem intriguing at first because it only suggests that the events take place in the cold season and that building a fire may be challenging.
...
Beginning
The short story begins with a very long exposition in which the main character is introduced and the natural setting of the Yukon trail area is depicted in meticulous detail: “Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little traveled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.”
We also find out the man has set out on the journey because he is trying to set up a logging business and that he needs to reach a camp where colleagues or associates wait for him:
...
Middle
The middle of short stories usually makes up the rising action and the climax, and “To Build a Fire” is no exception to this pattern.
The rising action presents the man’s journey on the trail to the camp, as the temperature begins to feel colder and colder.
A tension point is introduced when the man barely avoids falling in some hidden frozen water, which would be dangerous for his health, requiring the immediate set up of a fire: “That was why he had shied in such panic. He had felt the give under his feet and heard the crackle of a snow hidden ice-skin. And to get his feet wet in such a temperature meant trouble and danger.”
Also, another foreshadowing element is introduced through the character of the dog, who instinctively feels the weather is not good for traveling: “The animal was depressed by the tremendous cold. It knew that it was no time for traveling. Its instinct told it a truer tale…”
...
Ending
The ending of the short story begins with the falling action, in which the man tries one last thing to keep himself alive, running.
...
