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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 moves on to feed the fire with branches the size of what in Part IV?
(a) His wrist
(b) His finger
(c) His foot
(d) His neck

2. Which word from Part IV means inanimate or dead?
(a) Meditation
(b) Jovial
(c) Regal
(d) Lifeless

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

4. What are the shoes called that the protagonist wears in the narrative?
(a) Mukluks
(b) Sneakers
(c) Moccasins
(d) Clogs

5. Which word from Part IV means the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors?
(a) Success
(b) Ancestry
(c) Conflagration
(d) Wistful

Short Answer Questions

1. The narrator states in Part IV, “Well, here he was; he had had the accident; he was alone; and he had” what?

2. The story, although not directly stated, is suggested to take place during what time period?

3. 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?

4. An earlier version of To Build a Firewas first printed in The Youth’s Companion in which year?

5. 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?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How is the protagonist able to separate the matches in Part V? How does he attempt to light a match once he does?

3. How does the protagonist go about starting his second fire in Part V? What obstacles does he face in the process?

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 are the protagonist’s socks and shoes described as he tries to remove them in Part IV by the fire?

6. What causes the fire to be extinguished in Part V of the story?

7. What idea comes to the protagonist after his second fire is a failure in Part V?

8. What does fire symbolize in the story? What message does the author convey through this symbol?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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