This question is considered the another question about the two theme.
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. Man will always fail at survival of the fittest when his opponent is nature. The man failed to notice the warnings of nature and, in his arrogance and hubris, was not equipped to withstand what nature can dish out.
