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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to the narrator in Part IV, “The old-timer had been very serious in laying down the law that no man must travel alone in the Klondike after” what?
(a) 0 degrees
(b) Fifteen below
(c) Fifty below
(d) Thirty below

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

3. Which word from Part IV means to be grateful or thankful?
(a) Success
(b) Appreciate
(c) Wistful
(d) Manipulation

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

5. Which word from Part IV means situated at some distance away?
(a) Latitude
(b) Proximity
(c) Urban
(d) Remote

6. What refers to the decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a literary plot?
(a) Symbol
(b) Foreshadowing
(c) Metaphor
(d) Climax

7. How far away does the dog run before halting and surveying the protagonist after he releases it in Part V?
(a) 150 feet
(b) 15 feet
(c) 85 feet
(d) 40 feet

8. The man is described as speaking in what way to the dog in Part V, meaning leaving no opportunity for denial or refusal?
(a) Angrily
(b) Peremptorily
(c) Lovingly
(d) Pleadingly

9. What does the fire symbolize to the protagonist in Part V?
(a) Triumph
(b) God
(c) Life
(d) Comfort

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

11. What does the protagonist intend on rubbing his feet with in Part IV?
(a) Snow
(b) Dirt
(c) Branches
(d) Pine needles

12. What in literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation?
(a) Realism
(b) Surrealism
(c) Objectivism
(d) Absurdism

13. What other word does the narrator use for sulphur in Part V?
(a) Thermastone
(b) Sparkstone
(c) Brimstone
(d) Keystone

14. How many matches go up in flame at once in Part V?
(a) 70
(b) 12
(c) 45
(d) 124

15. The protagonist lights his second fire by touching a match to a small shred of what that he takes from his pocket in Part IV?
(a) Birch bark
(b) Oak leaves
(c) Cotton cloth
(d) Seal blubber

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What element of the story is omitted in the earlier version of To Build a Fire?

3. What simile occurs to the protagonist regarding his behavior in panicking in Part VI?

4. Which of the following is a central theme in To Build a Fire?

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

(see the answer keys)

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