Instinct vs. Intellectualism

To Build A Fire by Jack London A man travels in the Yukon on an extremely cold morning with a wolf dog. The cold does not faze the man, who plans to meet his friends by six o'clock at an old claim. As it grows colder, he realizes his unprotected cheekbones will freeze, but he doesn’t pay much attention. He walks along a creek trail, mindful of the dangerous, concealed springs; even getting wet …

…fingers to operate tools, and his larger, more complex brain allows him to create such tools. The dog is much wiser, aware that the cold is too dangerous for them; it even knows when the man is trying to deceive it somehow. Accordingly, only the dog survives, and though it may not be able to take care of itself fully, it instinctively knows to go to "the other food-providers and fire-providers" in the nearby camp.