To Build a Fire Study Questions

1. What is the setting ?

The Yukon territory of Canada.The wilderness of the frozen Yukon during the harsh winter months when
“there was no sun nor hint of sun” in the sky

2. What are the prevalent feelings and sights in the first paragraph? It is gray and
gloomy but he isn’t worried.

3. What is the total length of the trail mentioned in paragraph two? Why do you think the
author wants to be so specific? 3070

4. What is chechaquo? a new-comer to the territory

5. Why may the man’s lack of imagination be a serious flaw? He could not imagine the
effect the temperature could have on him; he couldn’t imagine the danger he was in or
that he could die

7. What experiment does the man perform? He “spat” or spit to see if it froze in the
air, and it did.

8. Why is the man not with the rest of “the boys” at the camp on Henderson Creek? He
came back from Indian Creek country a different way than they had so that he could
look for places to get logs in the spring

9. How is the dog’s reaction to the cold different than the man’s? Why is it different? The
dog’s instincts made it aware of the danger of travelling when it was so cold. In a way,
the dog was much smarter than the man. “It’s instinct told it a truer tale than than
was told to the man by the man’s judgement.” In this case, instinct is more important
than intelligence.

10. Before this man, when was the trail last used? Why may this be so important? It was
used one month ago. This is important because if the man gets into trouble, it’s likely
that there will be no one along to help him. It also shows the idea that this might not
be the best trail to use in the winter.

10. Comment on these lines “He was not much given to thinking…” and “Empty as the man’s
mind was of thoughts…” The man is portrayed as being not very intelligent, at least not
in his awareness of what was going on around him.

11. What precaution has the man failed to take? He had not made some kind of covering
for his face, so he was getting serious frostbite on his cheeks and nose.
12. Read the paragraph beginning “Empty as the man’s mind was of thoughts” through “when
one broke through he kept on breaking through for awhile…” Predict what you think will
happen later in the story. (Answers will vary)

13. What happens to the dog? What does it instinctively know to do? The dog fell through
the ice when the man pushed it forward. It instinctively licks and bites the ice off of
its paw.

14. What is happening to the man’s fingers and toes? They are numb and freezing.

15. What do we learn about past generations of man that is different from past generations
of wolves? Wolves pass along instincts and lessons learned about survival. Man does
not.

16. What had the old-timer on Sulpher Creek told him the previous fall? He said that no
man should travel alone in the Klondike when it is colder than 50 below.

17. How does the man react to the old-timer’s advice once he gets the fire going? He feels
confident and still thinks the old timer was too cautious. “Rather womanish” he had
thought.

18. What does the author mean by this sentence? “The wires were pretty much down
between him and his finger ends." His brain was unable to communicate with his
fingers because his fingers were numb and not sending any information to the
brain.

19. What mistake did the man make when he chose the location for his fire? He placed it
under overhanging branches holding snow. When the snow melted from the fire’s
warmth, the water and snow fell on the fire, putting it out.

20. What does the dog do which shows that it is in no danger from the intense cold? Once
the fire is out, it sits calmly with its tail keeping its legs and feet warm.

21. How is the man’s opinion of the old-timer different now? He realizes that the old-
timer was right.

22. When the man fails to build a fire, what wild idea does he get? He thinks that he will
kill the dog, cut it open, and warm his hands inside of it.

23. What must the man do when he first stands up? Why? He must look at his legs and
feet to see if he is actually standing because he has no feeling at all in his legs.

24. In his panic, what does the man do? He runs.

25. As the man sits and rests, what strange sensation does he feel? He feels warm and
relaxed.

Internet Bonuses: What does the dog do at the very end of the story? It trots off towrd
camp. What does the man do? He lays down and sleeps until he dies.