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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. 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) Darkness is setting in
(b) He lacks the endurance
(c) The snow is too deep
(d) He has to cross a river

2. The strings of the protagonist’s shoes are described as being like what in Part IV?
(a) Caribou intestines
(b) Fencing wire
(c) Stiff vines
(d) Rods of steel

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What drug does the protagonist compare to the onset of death in Part VI?

2. Which word, describing the dog in Part V, means sadly pensive, especially about something yearned for?

3. How many times does the protagonist strike the match before lighting it in Part V?

4. The narrator states in Part V of the protagonist, “It struck him as curious that one should have to use his eyes in order to find out where” what were?

5. What is the old-timer doing when the protagonist envisions him as he dies in Part VI?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the protagonist’s body respond when he begins to build a fire after falling through the ice in Part IV?

2. How does the protagonist respond when the fear of death begins to overtake him in Part VI?

3. How does the narrator describe the protagonist’s journey when he departs from lunch in Part IV?

4. What obstacle does the protagonist face with gathering twigs for his fire in Part IV?

5. How does the protagonist go about building a fire after his fall in Part IV?

6. How does the protagonist respond after falling through the ice in Part IV? What happens when he falls?

7. What conclusion does the protagonist come to when his fate appears sealed in Part VI?

8. What does the protagonist envision of his family in Part VI? How does he envision the old-timer?

9. What is the first mental image that overtakes the protagonist as he dies in Part VI?

10. What does the protagonist do after his fire is extinguished in Part V? What danger does he face?

(see the answer keys)

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