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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

3. 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) Sickened
(b) Angered
(c) Jealous
(d) Content

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

5. Which word describing the protagonist in Part VI means to struggle with stumbling or plunging movements?
(a) Flounder
(b) Apprehension
(c) Manipulation
(d) Recoil

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

7. 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?
(a) Nature
(b) Hyperthermia
(c) The frost
(d) The Yukon

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

9. According to the narrator in Part VI, the protagonist’s plan of running until he reaches camp has one flaw in it. What is this flaw?
(a) He lacks the endurance
(b) Darkness is setting in
(c) The snow is too deep
(d) He has to cross a river

10. In order to build a fire, the protagonist must do what in Part IV?
(a) Remove his watch
(b) Remove his moccasins
(c) Remove his coat
(d) Remove his mittens

11. How is death described in the protagonist’s thoughts and fears in Part V?
(a) Dull and oppressive
(b) Powerful and liberating
(c) Painful and final
(d) Sharp and fateful

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

13. Which of the following stylistic elements is used throughout To Build a Fire?
(a) Biblical allusion
(b) Flashback
(c) Literary allusion
(d) Repetition

14. The protagonist’s mistake is having built his fire under what, in Part V?
(a) A spruce tree
(b) An eagle nest
(c) A waterfall
(d) A cliff

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

Short Answer Questions

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

2. The protagonist’s socks are described as being like what “halfway to the knees” in Part IV?

3. According to the narrator in Part V, there had been no what for weeks?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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