London's "To Build A Fire": Use of Devices to Convey His Message Jack London uses the devices of plot, setting, and characterization in this short story "To Build A Fire" to convey his message that humans need to be social. London sets an average, middle-aged logger in a deserted Yukon trail during a wintry season. The temperature is seventy-five degrees below zero and the logger and his husky are traveling towards Henderson Creek, about ten miles away, where the logger's companions are located. London places the man in this Yukon environment to symbolize that in this cold, cruel w