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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When the protagonist falls a second time and the dog sits in front of him, how does the protagonist feel about the “warmth and security of the animal” in Part VI?
(a) Content
(b) Angered
(c) Jealous
(d) Sickened

2. In describing the protagonist’s thought of death in Part VI, the narrator states: “Sometimes it pushed itself forward and demanded to be heard, but he thrust it back and strove to think of other things.” This is an example of what literary technique?
(a) Assonance
(b) Alliteration
(c) Personification
(d) Irony

3. The narrator states in Part V of the protagonist, “It struck him as curious that one should have to use his eyes in order to find out where” what were?
(a) His knife
(b) His feet
(c) His matches
(d) His hands

4. The protagonist begins to think that the old-timer was right about what after the snow falls and puts out his fire in Part V?
(a) Following the ridgelines
(b) Letting a dog lead the way
(c) Traveling with a trail-mate
(d) Only traveling in the dark

5. What simile occurs to the protagonist regarding his behavior in panicking in Part VI?
(a) Running around like a chicken with its head cut off
(b) Like shooting fish in a barrel
(c) Going dark like a grand eclipse
(d) Burning like a meteor

6. The protagonist thinks to himself as he dies in Part VI, “When he got back to the States he could tell the folks” what?
(a) How he was a survivor
(b) About the rugged north
(c) Where he had lost his fingers
(d) What real cold was

7. The narrator states in Part IV, “Well, here he was; he had had the accident; he was alone; and he had” what?
(a) Saved himself
(b) Triumphed over nature
(c) Kept his composure
(d) Been lucky

8. Where does the dog go in the end of the story?
(a) Toward the springs
(b) Toward the camp
(c) Down the river
(d) Into the mountains

9. What are the shoes called that the protagonist wears in the narrative?
(a) Mukluks
(b) Moccasins
(c) Sneakers
(d) Clogs

10. At what age did Jack London quit school to work in a cannery and as a longshoreman?
(a) 17
(b) 14
(c) 16
(d) 12

11. Part V of the story marks what point in the plot structure?
(a) Denouement
(b) Climax
(c) Exposition
(d) Falling action

12. Which word from Part IV means inanimate or dead?
(a) Lifeless
(b) Meditation
(c) Regal
(d) Jovial

13. The protagonist begins by feeding the fire with twigs the size of what in Part IV?
(a) His arm
(b) A pencil
(c) His finger
(d) A sewing needle

14. The protagonist pictures the boys doing what the next day as he drifts into death in Part VI?
(a) Finding his body
(b) Contacting law enforcement officials
(c) Worrying about him
(d) Praying for his safety

15. How does the protagonist become aware that his hand is on fire in Part V?
(a) The feeling
(b) The sound
(c) The sight
(d) The smell

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the protagonist drop in the snow as he attempts to build his second fire in Part V?

2. Which of the following stylistic elements is used throughout To Build a Fire?

3. What other word does the narrator use for sulphur in Part V?

4. Which word, used to describe the snow in Part V, means something that covers, envelops, or conceals?

5. Mercury is often depicted holding what in his left hand?

(see the answer keys)

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