Alyssa Watts

3A

September 26, 2014

Critical Thinking Questions for To Build a Fire by Jack London. Remember to cite evidence
from the text.
1. How does the author let the reader know how severely cold it is in the story?
The author lets us know how severely cold it is by, using creative imagery in his writing.
Some examples include It was all pure white, as far as his eyes could see, unbroken
white and It had been days since he had last seen the sun. The author also uses the
repetitive phrase 50 degrees below zero to portray how cold it is.
2. Describe how the mans thinking and observations change as the story progresses.
At the beginning of the story he was very confident. The mans observations changed as
the story progressed. His limbs were going numb as well as having trouble starting a fire
and freezing. When he could not start the fire he began to lose hope and started running.
He then knew he could not run anymore when he started constantly falling and began to
accept his fate.
3. Describe the relationship between the man and the dog.
The man and the dog do not really have a connection together. It states in the story:
There was no real bond between the dog and the man. The two characters dont
connect with each other on many circumstances, such as the man tried to kill the dog to
use the dogs body for warmth. Both come from separate worlds and the dog is more of a
slave to someone where the man is more independent. The dog relies on the man to
supply him with warmth from the fire, and the man only has the dog as his companion.
The man does not really classify the dog as a companion as it states in the story that: He
remembered the advice of the old man on Sulphur Creek, and smiled. The man had been
very serious when he said that no man should travel alone in that country after 50 below
zero. As well as: Perhaps the old man on Sulphur Creek was right. If he had a
companion on the trail he would be in no danger now. The companion could have built
the fire. Lastly when the man dies, the dog runs away to the camp that he knows the
best, we can guess it is the camp the man was looking for leaving the man in the cold,
dead. The man couldve survived if he had relied on the dog to lead him to camp instead
of running throughout the woods. Both characters couldve relied on each other to
survive and make it back to the camp with the boys.
4. Why is getting his feet wet such a critical concern for the man?
The man knew if he got his feet back he would be frozen and affect his time of arrival to
the camp. The story states, If his feet are dry and he fails he can run along the trail for
half a mile to keep his blood moving, but if the blood in freezing feet cannot be kept
moving by running at 75 degrees. No matter how fast he runs the wet feet will freeze
even harder.
5. What are the most fatal mistakes the man makes?
The man made many mistakes in the story. First of all, when he was starting the fires, he
should have considered the positioning of the fire better. In the story the snow fell
without warning upon the man and the fire was still dead. Also before he set out on the
track, he did not take in to account how frozen his body might become; therefore he did
not take a mask to cover his face. Furthermore, not only did he go alone and against the
advice of the old man on Sulphur Creek that said after 50 degrees below zero a man
should not travel alone in this country. The man went on the journey alone, and should
not have gone at all. Also, he left the fire under a tree with snow all over it, he stepped in

Alyssa Watts

3A

September 26, 2014

a pond and got wet with freezing cold water, he was running in no apparent direction, and
he took off his gloves.
6. What are the mans thoughts when he realizes he is not going to survive?
The mans initial thought when he realized his impending death was complete and utter
fear. As the story says, The fear made him lose control of himself. With the knowledge
that he could not survive, he began running down the path in a last stitch effort to save his
own life. After running and falling several times, the man realized he could no longer run
any further because he lacked the endurance. At this point the man seems to come to
terms with death and says You were right, old fellow. You were right. speaking of the
old man of Sulphur Creek who was not present. He found himself sinking deeper and
deeper into the snow knowing he could not escape. After accepting his fate, the man falls
into a deep sleep of which he will never awake.