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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. When did a man from Sulphur Creek tell the protagonist about the dangers of being wet in the cold?
(a) Last summer
(b) That month
(c) Last fall
(d) Last spring

3. What kind of socks does the protagonist wear in Part IV?
(a) French
(b) Mexican
(c) German
(d) Canadian

4. Which word used to describe the protagonist in Part V means having or showing little or no emotion?
(a) Appreciate
(b) Ancestry
(c) Flounder
(d) Apathetic

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

6. The protagonist thinks to himself in Part IV, “All a man had to do was” what “and he was all right”?
(a) Work with nature
(b) Keep his head
(c) Pay attention
(d) Remember his training

7. Which word from Part IV means the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors?
(a) Conflagration
(b) Success
(c) Ancestry
(d) Wistful

8. Mercury is often depicted holding what in his left hand?
(a) A cistellatrix
(b) A lectisternium
(c) The Bacchanalia
(d) The caduceus

9. Which of the following is a central theme in To Build a Fire?
(a) Unrequited love
(b) Corruption
(c) Obsession
(d) Death

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

11. Which word, used to describe the snow in Part V, means something that covers, envelops, or conceals?
(a) Horizon
(b) Perimeter
(c) Cirque
(d) Mantle

12. The protagonist’s socks are described as being like what “halfway to the knees” in Part IV?
(a) Sheaths of iron
(b) Clenched fists
(c) Quicksand
(d) A cast

13. What kind of weapon does the protagonist carry?
(a) A rifle
(b) A pistol
(c) A sheath-knife
(d) A machete

14. 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) Irony
(b) Personification
(c) Assonance
(d) Alliteration

15. What element of the story is omitted in the earlier version of To Build a Fire?
(a) The knife
(b) The dog
(c) The cold
(d) The old-timer

Short Answer Questions

1. Mercury was a messenger in Roman mythology who wore what?

2. When the protagonist’s first fire is extinguished and he decides to build a second in Part V, he realizes that he will probably lose what?

3. When the protagonist’s second fire fails, he decides to attempt to do what with the dog?

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?

5. What is portrayed as the antagonist in To Build a Fire?

(see the answer keys)

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