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

2. The scent of what makes the dog back away and bristle in the end of Part VI?
(a) Urine
(b) Biscuits
(c) Burnt flesh
(d) Death

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

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

5. The following sentence is an example of which literary technique: “It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death”?
(a) Extrapolation
(b) Simile
(c) Allusion
(d) Assonance

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the fire symbolize to the protagonist in Part V?

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

3. When did a man from Sulphur Creek tell the protagonist about the dangers of being wet in the cold?

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 kind of weapon does the protagonist carry?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the mental state of the protagonist as he builds his fire after falling through the ice in Part IV?

2. How does the dog recognize the protagonist is dead in Part VI? What does the dog do?

3. Why does the protagonist resume running after he has fallen down in Part VI?

4. What does the dog do as the protagonist attempts to build his second fire in Part V? What obstacle does the protagonist face in getting the tinder going?

5. How does the protagonist’s emotional state evolve as he works on building his second fire in Part V?

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

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

8. What does the protagonist hope to do as a last resort in Part VI? What happens?

9. How does the protagonist regain the feeling of his fingers in Part V?What happens when he goes to light a match?

10. Why does the dog do as the protagonist fades from existence in Part VI?

(see the answer keys)

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