To Build a Fire

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Reading Check

1. Where is the story set?

2. What is the man’s destination?

3. How cold does the man estimate it to be?

4. What causes the man’s first fire to go out?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What advice about traveling in the cold does the man ignore?

2. What does the dog understand that the man does not?

3. What event initially causes the man to worry about the cold?

4. What happens when the man lights his whole box of matches at once?

5. What does the man attempt to do to the dog to keep warm?

6. What causes the man to say “‘You were right, old fellow. You were right’” at the end of the story? (Paragraph 60)

Paired Resource

“A Man Said to the Universe” by Stephen Crane

• A poem from Stephen Crane that encapsulates the naturalism movement
• How is the main idea of “A Man Said to the Universe” by Stephen Crane shown in “To Build a Fire” by Jack London?

Recommended Next Reads

“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane

• Another classic short story from the naturalism movement
• Published by Stephen Crane in 1897 and based on Crane’s own experience surviving a shipwreck
• Connects to the theme Acceptance of One’s Own Death
• Consider how “The Open Boat” and “To Build a Fire” showcase (hu)man versus nature conflicts.