SOLVED. Short story. Man stranded in the wilderness, must keep a fire burning to keep the wolves at bay. NOT Jack London's "To Build a Fire". [s]

[Angela]

I was convinced that this short story was Jack London's "To Build a Fire," but after reading it in a college course a few years ago, I realized it was something different. The premise is very similar - a man has been stranded in the (Alaskan?) wilderness and has to keep a fire going in order to survive. However, it's not the cold that will kill him. Instead, there's a pack of wolves circling him as night falls, waiting to attack the moment his fire goes out.

There's a particularly suspenseful moment where the fire almost goes out, but the man is able to light it again just in time. I remember him thinking that if he can only survive until morning, he'll be okay.

There may be an explanation of wolf behavior as part of the story, how they can survive for several days without food, but given enough time they'll grow desperate enough to eat even a human. I might be confusing it with something else though. I don't think the man survives at the end, but I'm not sure of that either...

I think I might have read this short story in a literature textbook when I was in middle school (2002-2005), one of those big anthologies that's a collection of works from all different genres. I'm sure it's much older than that; I definitely got the impression it was from the Klondike Gold Rush-era.

Anyone who can help me solve this mystery will be greatly appreciated. :) It blew my mind when I read "To Build a Fire" in college and it was a different story from what I "remembered"!

[Anna]

I think it may be a chapter of Jack London's White Fang, called The Hunger Cry.

[Angela]

Oh, you're right!!! I found a website that has White Fang printed online, and the chapter The Hunger Cry is exactly what I was thinking of. I feel a little silly now for not realizing that myself. :) Thank you so much!!! That had been bothering me for ages!