Eric L.

De Len Ruiz
801-13-1812
INGL3104-125
To Build a Fire-Study Guide Questions
Day One Homework
Critical reading analysis.
1. What mechanical thing is mentioned in the first paragraph? What is the
significance of this object in this story?
It is mentioned the Yukon trail and his watch. The trail symbolizes path and the
watch, time.
2. Why may the mans lack of imagination be a serious flaw?
Because the man didnt think things through and could not imagine what could
happen, he wasnt aware of the possible situations.
3. What experiment does the man perform? Why is he surprised at the
result? How does he react to the result? What does the mans reaction
tell you about him?
He noticed a crack in the snow and he used his dog to test if it was alright to
pass. If the dog passed, then he could.
4. How is the dogs reaction to the cold different than the mans? Why is it
different? Mention an example of this in the story.
The dog doesnt know what cold is, but its instinct tells it that it is bad. The
man knows that it is cold but he ignores it. The dog shows this reactions by
feeling it in itself and the man shows it by freezing. An example would be He
did not know cold
5. Comment on these lines: He was not much given to thinking and
Empty as the mans mind was of thoughts What do these lines tell
you about the man?
It tells that the man wasnt intelligent at all, that he did not think of things, he
just did them. he wasnt a very good thinker.
6. What precautions did the man fail to take before going on the trail and
while on the trail?
He knew that there were weak spots in the snow and he tried to avoid them.
7. What signals does the man get while on the trail about his chances of
survival?

The signal he got was that his hands and cheekbones were freezing and he
needed to build a fire.
8. What do we learn about the past generations of man that is different
than the past generations of dogs/wolves?
The past generations of man were careless and did not knew cold. The past
generations od dogs had known cold and fire.
9. What had the old-timer on Sulphur Creek told him about this weather?
How does the man react to this advice throughout the story?
The man told him that no one should go in a weather of 50 below zero and that
he had to travel with a companion.
10.When the man falls in the river, he curses his bad luck. Do you agree
with where he placed the blame? Why or why not?
I dont agree because it wasnt his luck that got him there, it was his
unawareness and lack of imagination.
11.What does this sentence mean: The wires were pretty well down
between him and his finger ends?
It means that his fingers were dead and he could not feel them.
12.What does the dog do that let us know it is in no danger from the intense
cold?
It sat in the snow, its tail curled around him over his forefeet.
13.When the man fails to build a fire, what wild idea does he get? Towards
the end in his panic, what does the man do?
He gets the wild idea that he was going to die, so he decided to run to camp.
14.Toward the end of the story, what does the man physically feel and
hallucinate about?
He pictured the boys finding his body the other day. Then he found himself with
them coming along the trail looking for himself. He was out of himself standing
with the boys and looking at himself.
15.Why do you think we are not told the mans or the dogs name?
Because maybe it was a true story and the author didnt wanted anyone to
know the names.
16.What does the man and dog relationship symbolize? Why? What does
the mans failure to build a fire symbolize? Why?
It symbolizes loyalty, dependence, and companionship. Every time the dog was
still with him until the end and so did the man. The mans failure to build a fire
symbolizes his fate, which he could not escape it. He tried many times to build
it but at the end it all became failure and he died.