To Build a Fire

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the story over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Consider how the man’s view of death changes throughout the story.

• How does the man’s view of death change as his own death nears? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages where the man contemplates the danger he is in or his own death, and discuss these in relation to your topic sentence.
• Finally, use your concluding sentence or sentences to state what the man’s changing view of death suggests about Acceptance of One’s Own Death.

2. Consider the dog’s perspective on events throughout the story. 

• How does the narration of the dog's perspective demonstrate the dog’s natural instincts? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages narrated from the dog’s perspective and discuss these in relation to natural instincts.
• Finally, use your concluding sentence or sentences to state what the dog’s perspective suggests about The Value of Natural Instincts.