To Build a Fire Lesson Plan

What is the significance of the following quote in the context of the story?

"The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances."

Strong answers will interpret imagination as forethought and a sense of reflection on his place in nature at this time. They will reference the extreme conditions and the fact that the man did not immediately interpret them as dangerous despite his lack of experience in such situations. Students may also discuss the difference between the man's and the dog's understandings of their predicament and of the conditions around them. Having only...