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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What of the protagonist’s “ebbed away and sank down into the recesses of his body” in Part IV?
(a) His spirit
(b) His warmth
(c) His blood
(d) His thoughts

2. To Build a Fireis considered to be a reflection of Jack London’s own experiences where?
(a) The Northwestern Yukon Territory
(b) Nova Scotia
(c) Norway
(d) Northern Alaska

3. The dog goes to find what in the end of the story?
(a) Other food-providers and fire-providers
(b) A new owner in town
(c) Shelter in the forest
(d) The companionship of other dogs

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

5. Mercury was the son of what god in Roman mythology?
(a) Mars
(b) Apollo
(c) Jupiter
(d) Neptune

6. What does the protagonist begin to do after panicking in Part VI?
(a) Kill the dog
(b) Yell for help
(c) Run along the trail
(d) Crawl into a cave

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

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

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

10. According to the narrator in Part VI, “never in the dog's experience had it known a man to sit like that in the snow and” do what?
(a) Not move
(b) Cry
(c) Be silent
(d) Make no fire

11. 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

12. 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) Fifteen below
(b) 0 degrees
(c) Fifty below
(d) Thirty below

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

14. When the protagonist’s second fire fails, he decides to attempt to do what with the dog?
(a) Kill it
(b) Feed it
(c) Follow it
(d) Send it for help

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

Short Answer Questions

1. How far away does the dog run before halting and surveying the protagonist after he releases it in Part V?

2. What thought puts the protagonist in a panic as he tries to light his second fire in Part V?

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

4. The protagonist moves on to feed the fire with branches the size of what in Part IV?

5. Which word from Part IV means situated at some distance away?

(see the answer keys)

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