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.

3. Consider the use of epiphany in the story.

• How does Jack London create an epiphany for the man? (topic sentence)
• Identify 3 passages that illustrate the man’s progression from ignorance to understanding.
• Finally, use your concluding sentence or sentences to state what the man’s epiphany reveals about Acceptance of One’s Own Death.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. For most of the story, the man does not take the threat of the Yukon cold seriously. Consider the role of the setting in this story on the man and the themes of The Dangers of Unimaginative Thinking, The Value of Natural Instincts, and Acceptance of One’s Own Death. In a structured essay, discuss how Jack London’s use of the setting in relation to one theme reveals elements of naturalism. Cite specific quotes to support your analysis.

2. “To Build a Fire” features an omniscient narrator who reveals the thoughts of both the man and the dog. Consider the impact of omniscient narration in this story. In an essay organized around at least 3 examples, discuss how the juxtaposition of the thoughts of the two characters reveals The Value of Natural Instincts. Cite specific quotes to support your analysis.

3. Consider how Jack London foreshadows the man’s struggle against the cold and eventual death. In a structured essay, discuss how London’s use of foreshadowing reveals The Dangers of Unimaginative Thinking. What point do you think London is trying to make about The Dangers of Unimaginative Thinking? Cite specific quotes to support your analysis.