The protagonist in the story "To Build a Fire" does not make any significant change throughout the story. The protagonist is not given a name, but he is referred to as "the man." Like many others at this time the man is in the Yukon for the gold rush. The natives in this area called these types of people chechaquo, which means "newcomer." The weather was harsh and it was in the dead of winter. The man had thought it to be only fifty degrees below zero, when it was really negative seventy-five. It was so cold that the spit from his chewing tobacco froze before it hit the ground. The man was not quite prepared for the journey he had embarked on, although he was quite confident that he would make it fine.

In the beginning of the story the man "was quick and alert in the...