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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. In literature, what refers to the author's providing of some background information to the audience about the plot, characters' histories, setting, and theme?
(a) Climax
(b) Foreshadowing
(c) Rising action
(d) Exposition

2. Jack London's mother was the fifth and youngest child of what Pennsylvania Canal builder?
(a) Marshall Wellman
(b) Jackson Wright
(c) Roger Stevens
(d) Albert Thompson

3. What does the protagonist use to ignite his fire in Part III?
(a) A magnifying glass
(b) A match
(c) A piece of flint
(d) A gun

4. What does the protagonist do after finishing his lunch in Part III?
(a) Takes a nap
(b) Drinks some whiskey
(c) Lights a pipe
(d) Watches the clouds

5. According to the narrator in Part II, no man had come up or down the silent creek that the protagonist travels on in how long?
(a) A month
(b) 3 weeks
(c) 1 week
(d) Two days

Short Answer Questions

1. What time is it in the beginning of To Build a Fire?

2. What does the protagonist chew as he travels in the narrative?

3. What type of dog travels with the protagonist?

4. The dog’s instincts tell him that walking in this cold is not good and that it is the time to do what, in Part III?

5. The protagonist turns aside from what main trail to climb the high earth-bank to a “dim and little-traveled trail” in Part I?

Short Essay Questions

1. When did Jack London drop out of school? Where did he go to work at that time?

2. What danger does the protagonist encounter at Henderson Creek in Part II?

3. What causes the protagonist to experience fear when he stops to eat lunch in Part III?

4. Why does the protagonist eat quickly when he stops for lunch in Part III?

5. What role does the old-timer play in the narrative?

6. Where is the protagonist traveling in the story? What supplies does he carry?

7. What does the protagonist do to warm up as he eats his lunch in Part III?

8. Where does the protagonist decide to eat lunch in the narrative? Why?

9. When and where was Jack London born? Who were his parents?

10. What advice did the old-timer give to the protagonist?

(see the answer keys)

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