To Build a Fire Pgs

Name: ______Date: _____ English II

“To Build a Fire” – pgs. 76-91 Jack London Reading Guide

Literary Analysis – Theme PASSAGE 1 – lines 69-79 Based on this passage and on what you know about the man, what is one theme of “To Build a Fire”? What details in this passage support your response?

PASSAGE 2 – lines 148-160 How does this incident illustrate the theme of the story?

PASSAGE 3 – lines 267-294 The man is using his intellect to recall what he has been taught and to reflect on it. How does the information in this passage develop and support the theme?

PASSAGE 4 – lines 499-507 How can you tell that the dog’s actions are governed by instinct? How do the dog’s actions support the theme of the story? Name: ______Date: _____ English II

Answer the following questions in full sentences. 1. Reread line 41. Why does the man spit? What does he learn?

2. What does the dog’s instinct call for when they set out on their journey?

3. How does the man react after the snow puts out his fire?

4. What will “the boys” do when the man does not show up? Explain.

5. The man “was a newcomer...and this was his first winter.” Why are these facts important?

6. How can you tell that the dog does not operate only on instinct? What suggests that the dog has been changed by human contact?

7. The narrator states, “At a place where there were no signs, where the soft, unbroken snow seemed to advertise solidity beneath, the man broke through [the snow and ice].” What does such a statement suggest about the narrator’s, and London’s, view of nature?

8. Why does the man say, “You were right, old hoss,” at the end of the story?

9. At what points in the story does the man act instinctively? Name: ______Date: _____ English II

10. Will the dog readily go out with other prospectors or not? Why or why not?