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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which word from Part IV means inanimate or dead?

2. How does the protagonist become aware that his hand is on fire in Part V?

3. What does the protagonist begin to do after panicking in Part VI?

4. What does the protagonist drop in the snow as he attempts to build his second fire in Part V?

5. Which word, used to describe the snow in Part V, means something that covers, envelops, or conceals?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What is symbolized by the ending of the story and the dog’s actions?

5. Why does the protagonist curse the dog in Part VI? What last effort does he make before accepting his fate?

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the effects of hypothermia. What causes hypothermia? How is it treated? Where are the effects most often felt first? How do they progress? How are these effects illustrated in To Build A Fire?

Essay Topic 2

According to the story, the "trouble" with the man is that he is "without imagination" and therefore never speculates about "man's place in the universe," his "frailty in general," or the fact that people are "able only to live within certain narrow limits of temperature." What is the result of this weakness in the story’s plot? Does the man reach any form of enlightenment through his travails?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the actions of the dog at the end of the story. What is the dog’s reaction to the protagonist’s death? Where does the dog go? Why? What is symbolized in this ending?

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