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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is portrayed as the antagonist in To Build a Fire?
(a) The old-timer
(b) Fire
(c) Nature
(d) The dog

2. Which word from Part V means skillful or artful management?
(a) Flounder
(b) Manipulation
(c) Conflagration
(d) Peremptorily

3. The story, although not directly stated, is suggested to take place during what time period?
(a) 1890s
(b) 1940s
(c) 1920s
(d) 1850s

4. The protagonist agitates the tree above him every time he does what in Part V?
(a) Saws off a branch
(b) Lays against the trunk
(c) Pulls a twig
(d) Yells at the dog

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

6. What thought puts the protagonist in a panic as he tries to light his second fire in Part V?
(a) His feet are freezing
(b) He is losing his vision
(c) The dog will eat him
(d) He is hearing voices

7. What is the old-timer doing when the protagonist envisions him as he dies in Part VI?
(a) Hunting moose
(b) Panning for gold
(c) Reading a book
(d) Smoking a pipe

8. The narrator states in Part IV, “When it is seventy-five below zero, a man must not fail in his first attempt to” do what?
(a) Save himself
(b) Build a fire
(c) Strike a match
(d) Gather water

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

10. The protagonist wonders if Mercury felt as he does doing what in Part VI?
(a) Trudging through the snow
(b) Crashing and burning
(c) Skimming over the earth
(d) Soaring like a bird

11. Which word from Part IV means a large destructive fire?
(a) Conflagration
(b) Recoil
(c) Wistful
(d) Apprehension

12. According to the narrator in Part V, there had been no what for weeks?
(a) Wind
(b) Animals
(c) Clouds
(d) Rain

13. What color is a central motif in To Build a Fire?
(a) Green
(b) White
(c) Blue
(d) Red

14. 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) Letting a dog lead the way
(b) Traveling with a trail-mate
(c) Only traveling in the dark
(d) Following the ridgelines

15. 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?
(a) An arm
(b) Both legs
(c) Some toes
(d) One foot

Short Answer Questions

1. The protagonist thinks to himself in Part IV, “Any man who was a man could” do what?

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

3. The narrator states of the protagonist in Part VI, “This time the shivering came more quickly upon the man. He was losing in his battle with” what?

4. How does the protagonist become aware that his hand is on fire in Part V?

5. The protagonist’s mistake is having built his fire under what, in Part V?

(see the answer keys)

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