The man
The unnamed man is the central protagonist and little background information is given about him. He is, however, depicted as lacking in imagination and does not take on board the implications of the advice he received earlier from the man he describes as the old-timer. He is not from this region and is, therefore, lacking in knowledge of how to proceed. By not listening to advice and proceeding on his trek without another (human) companion, he has left himself even more vulnerable to the elements. He also symbolizes the arrogance of humans, as opposed to having the instinctive awareness of the dog, and his death highlights this.