Final answer:
In 'To Build a Fire,' nature is depicted as unforgiving and indifferent, with descriptions emphasizing the extreme cold and the protagonist's struggle to build a fire for survival in the vast and dangerous beauty of the Yukon.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Jack London's short story To Build a Fire, the narrator describes nature as a harsh and indifferent force. The story's opening sets a tone of extreme cold and an absence of sunlight, painting a picture of a bleak, unyielding environment. For example, the passage 'Day had broken cold and grey, exceedingly cold and grey' emphasizes the severity of the climate. As the protagonist struggles to survive, the indifference of nature is a constant obstacle, highlighted by his need to build a fire in the face of nature's relentless cold. Even when the fire is built, it's precarious and at the mercy of nature, as seen in 'the treacherous tree could blot it out.' Nature's dominance is further exemplified by the imagery of the Yukon landscape, 'It was all pure white, rolling in gentle undulations where the ice-jams of the freeze-up had formed.' The narrative repeatedly emphasizes the vastness and the dangerous beauty of the natural world, which stands in stark contrast to the man's fragile existence within it.