To Build a Fire

Multiple Choice

1. C (Paragraph 35)

2. D (Paragraph 13)

3. A (Paragraph 3)

4. A (Paragraph 61)

5. C (Paragraph 24)

6. B (Various paragraphs)

7. A (Paragraph 4)

8. D (Various paragraphs)

Long Answer

1. The man treats the dog like a servant or a slave, which is shown when he forces “the dog to go ahead” (Paragraph 17) over a dangerous section of river and the dog falls through the ice. He helps the dog dry off because he needs the dog to help him survive. The dog feels no warmth towards the man and is “not concerned with the well-being of the man.” (Paragraph 24)

2. It seems that the audience never learns the names of the man or the dog because they are simply not important in a naturalist story. London employs objectivism to tell the story of a man who is ignorant and even arrogant in his attempts to survive in the “indescribable darkness” (Paragraph 1) and deadly temperatures of the Yukon. Withholding the names of the man and the dog emphasizes their individual insignificance compared to the setting of the story. (Various paragraphs)