UNIT
4
Regionalism
and Realism
1880–1910
What Are Regionalism and Realism?
In the years after the Civil War, the United States experienced dramatic
changes in population, technology, the distribution of wealth, and
women’s rights. American authors reacted to these changes by turning
away from their previous Romantic ideas and toward Realism. Realism
was a literary movement whose authors described life as they saw it,
instead of how they imagined or wanted it to be. Another literary
movement, Regionalism, was related to Realism. Regionalist authors
portrayed the specific traits of particular regions or areas of the
United States.
Growth and Reform
Beginning in the 1860s, improvements in farming equipment and the
expansion of railroads made more Americans willing to move west to
the Great Plains and beyond. While these areas were being settled,
eastern and midwestern cities also grew. New inventions such as the
electric lightbulb and the telephone created new jobs. Thousands of
Americans and new immigrants moved to urban areas in search of work,
and the manufacturing industry soared. By the early 1900s, the United
States had become the world’s leading industrial nation. But this growth
came at a price. While some business owners became extremely wealthy,
many of their workers remained poor and lived in terribly crowded and
unsafe conditions. Reformers, or people who worked for change, tried
to improve housing and working conditions for these people.
Skylines in cities like New York
changed rapidly as new
building materials and
technologies allowed buildings
to be made so tall that they
seemed to “scrape the sky.”
The fight for women’s rights had slowed down during the Civil War while
many women’s rights reformers focused on ending slavery. After the war,
these reformers began working again toward securing women’s rights to
own property and to vote. It was a long struggle, but finally, in 1920, the
Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, granting voting
rights to all American women.
American
Romanticism
Early America
1800
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The Civil War Era
1860
1880
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Realism
Realism was a reaction to the imaginary worlds of Romanticism. Realist
authors wanted to embrace ordinary life, not escape from it as the
Romantics often did. The Realists portrayed characters and events as they
actually were and wrote about everyday experiences as they saw, heard, and
felt them. Kate Chopin, the author of “The Story of an Hour,” which you will
read in this unit, was widely criticized for her realistic portrayal of women
and women’s lives. She was the first American author to write openly about
the suppressed passion and unhappiness of women who were limited to the
traditional roles of wife and mother.
Naturalism
Naturalism was a more extreme movement that grew out of Realism.
Naturalist authors, influenced by scientists such as Charles Darwin, believed
that people had little control over their own lives. They were convinced that
heredity and the environment shaped people’s destinies. Like Realists,
Naturalists wrote about ordinary people, but they often focused on the
working class and the poor. They described the battles of individuals against
what they believed was a cruel and limiting society. Author Jack London had
a difficult early life that led him to embrace Naturalist thought. In this unit,
you will read “To Build a Fire,” London’s story about a man who struggles to
survive in the Canadian wilderness.
How Do I Read Literature?
Focus on key literary elements and reading skills to get the most out of
reading the short stories in this unit. Here are two key literary elements and
four key reading skills that you will practice in this unit.
Key Literary Elements
• Irony: Review
Reread the definition of irony and the example on page 41. A situation is
ironic when what actually happens is not what was expected to happen. For
example, Gina secretly uses her savings to buy a ticket for a concert that her
parents have forbidden her to attend. On the day of the concert, her
parents tell her they are proud of her for not arguing with them about going
to the concert and surprise her with a ticket.
Regionalism
and Realism
Beginnings of the
Modern Age
1910
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From Depression
to Cold War
1930
Into the
21st Century
1960
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• Suspense: Review
Reread the definition of suspense and the example on page 41. Suspense
makes a reader wonder what will happen next. For example, read this
passage: Jorge listened fearfully to the creaking noises in the house. He was
home alone and not feeling very comfortable about it. Just then a crashing
sound came from the direction of the kitchen. This passage might make the
reader wonder, “What caused the noise?” and “Is Jorge in danger?”
Key Reading Skills
• Infer: Review
Reread the definition of infer and the activity on page 42. After you have
reviewed the reading skill, complete the activity below.
Read the following sentences: Caitlin gazed out the window as
the rain poured down and formed large puddles on the ground.
Then she looked longingly at her swimsuit and towel, which were
packed in a bag sitting by the front door.
From this information and your own knowledge, what can you
infer about what Caitlin is feeling and why she is feeling that way?
• Identify Assumptions: Review
Reread the definition of identify assumptions and the activity on
page 42. After you have reviewed the reading skill, complete the
activity below.
Read the following sentences: Dean froze in fear when he saw the
large bulldog running toward him. He still remembered the
painful bite he got from his neighbor’s poodle a few months ago.
What assumption is Dean making about the bulldog?
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• Sequence: Review
Reread the definition of sequence and the activity on page 43. After you
have reviewed the reading skill, complete the activity below.
Underline the words that show sequence in the following sentences: Before
Ying-Chun started her science homework, she ate one of the delicious
muffins her mother had baked. After her homework was done, Ying-Chun
chatted with friends online.
In the list below, number the events from 1 to 3 in the order they happened.
Ying-Chun chatted online.
Ying-Chun’s mother baked muffins.
Ying-Chun finished her homework.
• Predict: Review
Reread the definition of predict and the activity on page 43. After you have
reviewed the reading skill, complete the activity below.
Read the following sentences: The tired factory worker’s stomach growled
loudly as he reached the front of the line to collect his pay. His money had
run out, and he had not eaten that day. When he counted the bills the
clerk handed him, the worker became confused—then outraged. “This is
less than half of what I was paid last week!” he shouted. Other workers
heard the shouting and gathered around. A supervisor walked over.
What do you predict will happen next? Why?
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What You Know
Meet
Jack London
Have you ever been outside in extremely cold weather? How did it
affect you?
Reason to Read
Read this short story to learn about one person’s struggle to keep
himself from freezing to death.
Background Info
The Yukon River is approximately 2,000 miles long. It begins in
northwestern Canada’s Yukon Territory and flows from east to
west through Alaska. A branch of the Yukon River flows through
an area of Canada where gold was found in 1896. This area is called
the Klondike region.
Jack London was born in 1876 in
San Francisco, California. From
the age of 10, London worked to
earn money to support himself
On July 17, 1897, 68 miners arrived in Seattle, Washington, on the
steamship Portland. They carried boxes, suitcases, and sacks filled
with more than 2,000 pounds of gold from the Klondike region.
Thousands of people soon rushed to the region, in the hope of
getting rich.
and his family. In his teens he
became a sailor, but he always
loved to read. After finishing high
school, London rushed off to the
Klondike region. He did not find
wealth there, but his experiences
during the gold rush provided
material for the stories that
made him famous. “To Build a
Fire” was first published in 1908.
The Klondike region is far north and temperatures often fall below
-50°F (-46°C). The miners who rushed to this area in the late 1800s
in search of gold were not prepared for the harsh weather
conditions there. “To Build a Fire” takes place in the Yukon
Territory. At the beginning of this story, a man and his dog are
walking on a trail along the Yukon River, returning to camp in the
Klondike region.
The main character’s struggle to survive in a harsh environment
reflects the idea from the Naturalist literary movement that a
person’s destiny is shaped largely by his or her environment.
London died in 1916.
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Word Power
frailty (frāl-tē) n. the condition of being weak; p. 145
Juan was surprised at his grandfather’s frailty.
amber (am-bər) n. a hard yellowish or brownish material made of the fossilized
sap of pine trees, usually used for making jewelry; p. 147
Gina treasured the amber necklace her mother gave her.
floundered (flown-dərd) v. struggled to move; p. 149
The puppy floundered on the wet floor, trying not to fall down.
thrashing (thrash-ing) v. moving wildly; p. 150
We watched the tree branches thrashing in the heavy wind.
extremities (ik-stre-mə-tēz) n. the outermost parts of the limbs of a body; p. 153
The cold caused people’s extremities to feel numb.
provider (prə-vı̄-dər) n. a person who supplies something; p. 156
They thanked Mrs. Sánchez, who was the provider of the delicious meal.
surge (sərj) n. a sudden increase; a large wave; p. 156
A surge of anger came over the child when his toy broke.
anesthetic (á-nəs-the-tik) n. a drug that relieves pain by causing a loss of
feeling; p. 162
The doctor gave the patient an anesthetic before stitching his wound.
Answer the following questions, using one of the new words above.
Write your answers in the spaces provided.
1. Which word goes with “a sudden rising up”?
2. Which word goes with “hands and feet”?
3. Which word goes with “someone who brings gifts”?
4. Which word goes with “tossing around violently”?
5. Which word goes with “not having strength”?
6. Which word goes with “stumbled awkwardly”?
7. Which word goes with “takes away physical discomfort”?
8. Which word goes with “jewelry from fossils”?
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Adapted from
Jack London
Day had broken cold and gray, extremely cold and gray. The
man turned from following the Yukon River and climbed its
steep bank, where he could see a dim and little-traveled trail
leading east through thick spruce forest. He paused for breath
and justified stopping by looking at his watch. It was nine
o’clock. No sun could be seen even though there were no
clouds. It was a clear day and yet it was gloomy, due to the
absence of sun.
This did not worry the man. He was used to the lack of
sun. He had not seen it for days and knew it would be days
before he did. Then that cheerful orb would just peep above
the southern skyline and dip immediately from view.
The man looked back at the way he had come. The Yukon
River lay a mile wide hidden under three feet of ice. On top
of this ice were three feet of snow. It was all pure white,
rolling in gentle waves where the ice had broken. North and
south, as far as the eye could see: unbroken white except for
that hair of a trail. This was the main trail. It curved and
The Bering Sea is the
northernmost part of the
Pacific Ocean. It is located
between Russia’s east coast
and Alaska’s west coast.
twisted from the forest island in the south to another forest
island in the north. It led five hundred miles south to salt
water and one thousand five hundred miles north to the
Bering Sea .
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But all this—the mysterious, far-reaching hairline trail, the
lack of sun, the tremendous cold, the strangeness of it all—did
not impress the man. It was not because he was used to it, for
he was new to the land and this was his first winter. His
trouble was a lack of imagination.
He was quick and alert to the things of life but did not grasp
what they meant. To him, fifty degrees below zero only meant
severe frost and being cold and uncomfortable. It did not make
him think about human frailty—how one could only live
within a narrow range of heat and cold. It did not lead him to
think about a human being’s place in the universe. Fifty
degrees below zero stood for a bite of frost that meant mittens,
earflaps, warm moccasins , and thick socks. Fifty degrees
below zero was just precisely fifty degrees below zero. That it
might be anything more than that never entered his head.
He began walking and, as an experiment, he spit. There
Moccasins were close-fitting
shoes or boots first worn
by many Native Americans
in North America and later
also by settlers in the region.
Moccasins were generally
made from deerskin, but
other kinds of skins could
also be used.
was a sharp, explosive cracking sound that startled him. He
spit again, and again the spittle crackled. He knew that at fifty
degrees below zero, spit crackled when it hit the snow, but
this spit had crackled in the air. So it was colder than fifty
below. How much colder he did not know, but the temperature
did not matter to him. He would make camp by six o’clock. It
would be a bit after dark, but his men would be there. They
had all come to this land to look at their chances of getting
logs in the spring from the Yukon islands. The boys would
have a fire going and a hot supper ready.
The author uses the word
crackled to help the reader
hear how the character’s spit
sounded in the air. Zip and
buzz are other words that
suggest the sounds of what
they describe. What are other
words that imitate or suggest
the sound of something?
As for lunch, he felt the bundle under his jacket. It was also
under his shirt, wrapped in a handkerchief against his naked
skin. That was the only way to keep the biscuits from freezing.
He smiled, thinking of them cut open and filled with a big slice
of fried bacon.
Word Power
frailty (frāl-tē) n. the condition of being weak
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Photo unavailable due to copyright restrictions.
How does this photo of an Alaskan
husky help you understand why
the dog in the story can survive
such cold temperatures?
He plunged into a forest of big spruce trees. The trail was
faint. A foot of snow had fallen on the tracks of the last sled
that had passed through. He was glad not to have a sled, to
be traveling light, carrying nothing but his lunch.
He was surprised, however, at the cold. It certainly was
cold, he concluded. His thick beard did not protect his high
cheekbones and numb nose, so he rubbed them with his
Suspense
Suspense is a
feeling of uncertainty or even
dread about what is going to
happen next in a story. Reread
the highlighted sentences.
How does the author’s
description of the dog’s
behavior help create suspense?
mittened hand.
At the man’s heel trotted a big gray dog, a native husky that
looked and acted just like its brother the wild wolf. The
animal was depressed by the cold. It knew it was no time for
traveling. Its instinct was smarter than the man’s judgment. In
reality, it was dangerously colder than fifty below. It was
seventy-five below. The dog did not know anything about
thermometers, but it had its instinct. It felt a vague but real
threat that made it slink along at the man’s heels. It eagerly
questioned every new movement of the man in hope of camp,
shelter, or fire. The dog had learned fire, and it wanted fire,
or else to burrow under the snow where it was warmer than
the air.
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The frozen moisture of its breathing had settled on its fur in
a fine powder of frost, especially on its jaws, snout, and
eyelashes. The man’s red beard and mustache were likewise
frosted, but more solidly, taking the form of ice which grew
thicker with every breath he exhaled. Also, the man was
chewing tobacco, and his lips were so ringed with ice he was
unable to clear his chin when he spit out the juice. The result
was a crystal beard as hard and red as amber growing down
from his chin. If he fell down it would shatter like glass. But
he did not mind his second beard. It was the price all
tobacco-chewers paid in that country.
He continued on through the level stretch of woods for
several miles and dropped down a bank to the frozen bed of
a small stream. This was Henderson Creek, and he knew he
was ten miles from where it forked toward his camp. He
looked at his watch. It was ten o’clock. He was making four
miles an hour, so he’d get to the fork at half-past twelve. He
decided he would celebrate by eating his lunch when he
got there.
The dog followed at his heels, tail drooping, as the man
walked along the creek. The old sled trail was plain to see,
but a lot of snow covered the tracks of the last sled. It must
have been a month since anyone came up or down that
silent creek.
The man held steadily on. He was not much given to
thinking, and had nothing in particular to think about except
that he would eat lunch at the fork and be in camp with the
Predict
Good readers use
clues in a story and what
they already know to predict,
or guess, what will happen
next. Good readers revise
their predictions as they read
and gather more clues. Think
about what you have read so
far. What do you predict will
happen to the man? Explain
your prediction.
boys at six o’clock. There was nobody to talk to. Even if there
had been, speech would have been impossible because of the
ice muzzle on his mouth. So he just continued to chew
tobacco and to increase the length of his amber beard.
Word Power
amber (am-bər) n. a hard yellowish or brownish material made of the
fossilized sap of pine trees, usually used for making jewelry
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Once in a while the thought struck him again that it was
very cold and that he had never experienced such cold. As he
walked along he kept rubbing his cheekbones and nose with
the back of his mittened hand. Now and then he changed
hands. Still, as soon as he stopped rubbing, his cheekbones
went numb, then his nose. He knew his cheeks would get
frostbite, and regretted he hadn’t made a nose strap like Bud
The word frostbite means “an
injury to a part of the body
caused by freezing cold.”
Frostbite is a compound
word that is made up of two
words. Each of the words has
a different meaning when it
stands alone. What is another
weather-related compound
word you know?
wore in cold snaps. Such a strap also covered the cheeks as
well, and saved them. But it didn’t matter much, after all.
What were frosted cheeks? A bit painful, that was all. They
were never serious.
Empty as the man’s mind was of thoughts, he noticed
everything: the curves and bends in the creek, the timber
jams, and always he sharply noted where he placed his feet.
Once, coming around the bend, he stopped like a startled
horse and jumped back. He knew it was so cold that the creek
had to be frozen clear to the bottom. But he also knew there
were warm springs from the hills that the cold never froze.
These springs sometimes ran under the snow on top of the ice
of the creek.
They were traps.
They hid pools of water under the snow. Sometimes the
snow covered a thick skin of ice over these pools. Sometimes
there were layers of ice and water so that when you broke
through, you kept breaking through, till you were up to your
waist in water.
That was why he had backed away in such panic. He had
felt the give under his feet and heard the cracking of ice skin
under the snow. And to get his feet wet in such a cold
temperature meant trouble and danger. At the very least it
meant delay, for he would have to stop and build a fire to
keep his feet warm while he dried his socks and moccasins.
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He studied the creek bed and its banks and concluded the
warm water came from the right. He stood there rubbing his
nose and cheeks for a while, then went left, testing each step
with care. Once clear of the danger, he took a fresh chew of
tobacco and continued at his usual pace of four miles an hour.
In the next two hours he came upon similar traps. Usually
the snow above the hidden pools had a sunken, sugarlike
appearance that advertised the danger. Still, he had another
very close call.
And once, suspecting danger, he made the dog go ahead of
him. The dog did not want to go. It hung back until the man
shoved it forward. Then it went quickly across the white,
unbroken surface. Suddenly it broke through, floundered to
one side, and got away to firmer footing. The water on its
front feet and legs almost immediately turned to ice. The dog
made quick efforts to lick the ice off its legs, then dropped
down in the snow and began to bite out the ice in its toes.
Sequence
Reread the
highlighted text. Number the
actions below from 1 to 3 to
show the order in which they
occur.
The dog quickly
begins licking his legs.
The man shoves the
dog forward.
The dog breaks
through the ice.
The man removed one mitten and helped it tear out the ice
particles. He did not expose his fingers more than a minute,
and was astonished how quickly the numbness struck them. It
certainly was cold. He pulled on the mitten quickly, and
pounded the hand on his chest.
At twelve o’clock the day was at its brightest. Yet the sun
was still too far south to appear above the horizon. The man
walked along Henderson Creek under an empty sky and cast
no shadow. At half-past twelve, to the minute, he arrived at
the fork of the creek.
He was pleased at the speed he had made. If he kept it up,
Fork is a word with more than
one meaning. Here it means
“the place where something
divides into branches.” It can
also mean “an eating utensil
with a handle and pointed
parts at one end.” Write two
sentences using the word fork
(one for each meaning).
1.
he would certainly be with the boys by six. He unbuttoned
his jacket and shirt with one hand and pulled out his lunch.
This took just fifteen seconds, but his fingers still went numb.
2.
Word Power
floundered (flown-dərd) v. struggled to move
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He beat them against his leg and then sat down on a snowcovered log to eat. The sting that this pounding brought to his
fingers faded so quickly, it startled him. He had no chance to
take a bite of biscuit. He had to keep striking his fingers to
keep them from freezing. He returned them to the mitten,
Reread the sentences boxed in
green. Why is the man not able
to eat the biscuit?
baring the other hand for the purpose of eating. He tried to
take a mouthful, but the ice muzzle prevented this. He had
forgotten to build a fire and thaw out.
He chuckled at his foolishness but as he chuckled he felt
the numbness creeping back in his exposed fingers. And he
couldn’t tell if his toes were warm or numb. He moved them
in his moccasins and decided they were numb.
He quickly pulled the mitten on and stood up. He was a bit
frightened. He jumped up and down until a sting returned to
his feet. It certainly was cold, he thought again. The old man
at Sulphur Creek was right about how cold it can get around
here. And to think he had laughed when the old-timer told
him! That showed one must not be too sure of things. There
was no mistake about it, it was cold.
He walked up and down, stomping his feet and thrashing
his arms until welcome warmth returned. Then he got out
matches and set about making a fire. For firewood, he found
clumps of twigs in the undergrowth, left by the high water
last spring.
Working carefully from a small beginning, he soon had a
roaring fire. The ice thawed from his face and now he could
eat his biscuits.
For the moment the cold of space was outsmarted.
The dog took satisfaction in the fire, stretching out close
enough for warmth and far enough away to keep from
getting burned.
Word Power
thrashing (thrash-ing) v. moving wildly
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Photo unavailable due to copyright restrictions.
What emotions do you feel when you look at this image? Are these emotions similar
or different from the emotions the man is feeling in the story?
When the man had finished, he filled his pipe and took his
time for a comfortable smoke. Then he pulled on his mittens,
pulled down his earflaps, and started up the creek trail on the
left fork.
The dog was disappointed and did not want to leave the
fire. This man did not know cold! Did all humans not know
cold, real cold, cold past a hundred degrees below freezing?
The dog knew; all dogs knew. They inherited this knowledge
when born: it was not good to walk around in such fearful
cold! It was time to lie snug in a hole in the snow and wait for
a curtain of clouds to cover the face of outer space where the
cold came from.
However, the dog was not the man’s best friend; it was his
slave. The only caresses it had ever received were from the
whip or the harsh, mean throat sounds that threatened the
use of the whip. So the dog made no effort to show its
concern to the man. It was not considering the man’s
wellbeing. It was for its own sake that it yearned back toward
the fire. But then, the man whistled, and spoke to it with the
sound of whiplashes. The dog sprang forward and once more
followed at his heels.
The man took a chew of tobacco and started a new amber
beard. Also, his moist breath quickly put white powder on his
mustache, eyebrows, and lashes. He stayed alert for dangerous
springs, but for half an hour saw no signs that there were any.
Personification is a figure of
speech that is used to give an
animal, object, or idea human
characteristics. For example,
the narrator mentions the face
of outer space. We know that
outer space doesn’t have a
face, but we understand the
meaning the writer is trying
to suggest. Which of the
sentences below is an example
of personification? Check the
correct response.
The heavy rain fell loudly
against the roof.
The laughing sun smiles
down on me.
The old tree stands tall
behind the house.
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And then it happened.
At a place where there were no signs, where the soft,
Suspense
Reread the
highlighted sentence. How
does this sentence create
suspense?
unbroken snow seemed to advertise solid ice beneath, the
man broke through.
It was not deep. He wet himself to the knees before he
floundered out to the firm crust. He was angry, and cursed
his luck aloud. He had hoped to get into camp with the boys
at six o’clock, and this would delay him an hour, for he would
have to build a fire and dry out. This was absolutely necessary
at that low temperature—he knew that much.
He climbed up the bank. On top, at the base of some small
spruce trees, was a high-water deposit of firewood—sticks and
twigs mostly, but also branches and grasses. First he threw
down large pieces on top of the snow. This served as a
foundation to keep a young flame from drowning in snow it
might melt. He got a flame by touching a lit match to some
birch bark he had in his pocket. He placed it on the
foundation and fed it with grass and the tiniest twigs.
Predict
Reread the
prediction you made on
page 147. Does it match what
happens in the story? (Don’t
worry if it doesn’t match! You
can revise your predictions
as you get new information
from the story.) Now that the
man has gotten wet, predict if
the man will be able to create
enough fire to warm himself.
He worked slowly and carefully, very aware he was in
danger. As the flame grew stronger, he fed it larger twigs. He
squatted in the snow, pulling twigs from the underbrush,
feeding them directly to the flame.
He knew there must be no failure. In that cold, a man must
not fail in his first attempt to build a fire, if his feet are wet. If
his feet are dry, and he fails, he can run along the trail for a
while and warm up. But when it’s seventy-five below, no
matter how fast he runs, the wet feet will freeze the harder.
All this the man knew. The old-timer at Sulphur Creek had
told him about it last fall, and now he was appreciating the
advice. Already all sensation had gone out of his feet. To build
the fire he had to take off his mittens, and the fingers had
quickly gone numb. His walking had kept his heart pumping
blood, but when he stopped, the pump eased off.
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The blood was alive, like the dog, and like the dog it wanted
to hide from the fearful cold. So long as he walked four miles
an hour, he pumped that blood to the surface; but now it sank
as far as it could from the outside cold.
His extremities were the first to feel its absence: his wet
feet, his exposed fingers, nose and cheeks, all his skin. But he
was all right. The fire was beginning to burn with strength.
His toes and nose and cheeks would only get a little frostbite.
Now he was feeding the fire twigs the size of his finger. In
another minute he’d feed it branches the size of his wrist.
Then he could remove the wet gear from his feet and dry it,
keeping his naked feet warm by the fire—first rubbing them,
of course, with snow. The fire was a success. He was safe.
He remembered the man at Sulphur Creek and smiled.
The old-timer had been very serious in laying down the law
that no man must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty
below. Well, here he was—alone. He had had an accident and
Predict
Reread the
highlighted paragraph. On
the previous page, you made
a prediction about the man’s
success in building another
fire. Did you make an accurate
prediction? Underline the
words in the paragraph that
show the man has success.
saved himself. Some of these old men, he thought, they had
turned into old women. All a man had to do was to keep his
head, and he was all right. Any man who was a man could
travel alone.
But it was surprising how quickly his cheeks and nose were
freezing. And he never thought his fingers could go lifeless in
so short a time. He could hardly get them to grip a twig, and
they seemed so far from his body. Far from him. When he
touched a twig, he had to look and see if he had hold of it.
The wires were pretty well down between him and the ends
of his fingers.
All of which didn’t matter. There was the fire, snapping and
Reread the boxed text. Why
does the man have to look
at the twig to know if he is
holding it?
crackling and promising life with every dancing flame. He
started to untie his moccasins but they were coated with ice.
Word Power
extremities (ik-stre-mə-tēz) n. the outermost parts of the limbs of a body
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His thick knee-high socks were like iron, and the moccasin
A simile is a comparison
between two unlike things
using the words like or as. The
author compares the man’s
socks to iron and his moccasin
strings to rods of steel. Find
another simile on this page
and underline it.
strings were like twisted, knotted rods of steel. For a moment
he tugged at them with his numb fingers. Then, realizing the
folly of it, he drew his knife.
But before he could cut the strings, it happened. It was his
own fault or, rather, his mistake. He should not have built the
fire under a tree. He should have built it in the open. But it
had been easier to pull twigs off the ground and drop them
right into the fire. But the tree under which he had done this
had snow on its branches.
No wind had blown for weeks, and each branch was fully
loaded. Each time he had yanked a twig from the underbrush,
he caused a slight shiver in the tree—too small for him to
notice but disturbing enough for disaster.
High in the tree, snow slid off one branch. This fell on the
branches beneath, knocking off their snow. This process
continued, spreading to the whole tree. It grew like an
avalanche, and fell without warning on the man and the fire.
The fire was blotted out! Where it had burned was now a
jumbled heap of fresh snow.
The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard
his own death sentence. For a moment he sat and stared at
the spot where the fire had been. Then he grew very calm.
The old-timer was right. If he had a trail mate now, he would
be in no danger. A dry trail mate could rebuild the fire.
Reread the boxed text. What
advice of the old-timer has the
man not followed?
Well, it was up to him now. This time there really could be
no failure. Even if he succeeded, he would probably lose some
toes. His feet were badly frozen already, and it would take a
lot of time before another fire was ready.
Such were his thoughts, but he did not sit and think them.
He was very busy as they went through his mind.
STOP
Stop here for Break Time on the next page.
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e
m
i
T
k
a
Bre
As you read a story, it’s important to keep track of the sequence of events.
Read each event from “To Build a Fire” in the boxes below. Write the
numbers 2 through 8 in the spaces provided to show the order in which the
events occur in the story. The first event has been numbered for you.
The man continues to walk but
then falls through the ice and
gets wet up to his knees.
The man spits and realizes
that it’s colder than fifty
degrees below zero.
The dog breaks through the
ice but escapes unhurt.
The man builds a fire
under a tree.
The man and his dog begin
walking on the trail.
The man begins checking
for pools of water
under the snow.
1
Snow falls from the tree
branches and puts out
the fire.
GO
The man builds a fire
and eats lunch.
Turn the page to continue reading.
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He made a foundation for a new fire, this time in the open
Sequence
Reread the
highlighted paragraphs. Then
read the events below. Find the
sentences in the paragraphs
that describe the events and
underline them. Then number
the events from 1 to 3 to show
the order in which they take
place.
The man is not able to
grab the piece of birch bark.
The man sets up the
base for the fire in the open.
The man gathers large
branches for the fire.
where no treacherous tree could blot it out. Next, he scooped
up dry grasses and twigs from the high-water deposit. He could
not bring his fingers together to pull them out, but was able to
gather them between his hands. This gave him many rotten
twigs and bits of green moss that were bad for a fire, but it
was the best he could do.
He worked without stopping, even collecting an armful of
large branches for when the fire would be big. All the while the
dog sat and watched him, yearning and hopeful, for it saw the
man as the provider of fire, and the fire was slow in coming.
When all was ready, the man reached in his pocket for a
second piece of birch bark. He could not feel it with his
fingers, but heard it rustling as he fumbled for it. Try as he
might, he could not get hold of it.
Reread the boxed text. Think
of a time when you felt panic
or fear about a situation
you were in. What was the
situation and how did you
handle it?
His feet were freezing. This thought tempted him to panic,
but he fought to keep calm. He pulled off his mittens with his
teeth, and thrashed his arms back and forth, beating his hands
with all his might against his sides. He tried this sitting down,
then standing. All the while the dog sat in the snow, its wolf
tail curled warmly around its paws, its sharp wolf ears leaning
forward as it watched the man. And the man, beating and
thrashing his arms and hands, felt a great surge of envy for
the dog’s natural ability to keep itself warm and secure.
After a time he felt the first faraway signals of sensation in
his fingers. The faint tingling grew stronger till it turned into a
very painful ache that the man was glad he could feel. He
ripped the mitten from his right hand and pulled out the birch
bark. The exposed fingers were quickly going numb again. He
brought out his matches.
Word Power
provider (prə-vı̄-dər) n. a person who supplies something
surge (sərj) n. a sudden increase; a large wave
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But the tremendous cold had already driven the life out of
his fingers. As he tried to separate one match from the others,
the whole bunch fell in the snow. He tried to pick them out
of the snow, but couldn’t. The dead fingers could not feel
or close.
He had to be very careful now. He drove any thought of
freezing extremities from his mind, and put all his attention
on the bunch of matches. He watched, using his vision in
place of touch, and when he saw his fingers on each side of
Predict
Reread the
highlighted text. Now that the
man’s hands have frozen, what
do you think will happen to
him? What do you think will
happen to the dog? Write your
prediction below.
the bunch, he closed them—that is, he thought he did. He
willed to close them, but the wires were down, and the
fingers did not obey.
He pulled the mitten on the right hand, and beat it fiercely
against his knee. Then, with both mittened hands, he scooped
the bunch of matches, along with much snow, into his lap. But
he was no better off.
After a number of tries, he got the bunch between the heels
of his mittened hands and carried it to his lips. The ice there
crackled and snapped when by a violent effort he got his
mouth open. He scraped the bunch with his upper teeth to
pick out a match. He succeeded in getting one, but it dropped
on his lap.
He was no better off. He could not pick it up.
Then he came up with a way. He picked it up in his teeth
and scratched it on his leg. Twenty times he scratched before
he succeeded in lighting it. As it flamed he held it with his
teeth to the birch bark. But the sulphur smoke went up his
nose, causing him to cough.
Reread the boxed text. What
does the man do to try to get
another fire started?
The match fell into the snow and went out.
The old-timer at Sulphur Creek was right, he thought in this
moment of quiet despair. After fifty below, a man should
travel with a partner.
He beat his hands again, but no sensation came.
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Suddenly he bared both hands, removing his mittens with
his teeth. He caught the whole bunch of matches between the
heels of his hands, and scratched it along his leg. It flared into
flame, seventy sulphur matches at once! There was no wind to
blow them out. He kept his head to one side to escape the
sulphur fumes, and held the blazing bunch to the birch bark.
As he did, he became aware of sensation in his hand. His
flesh was burning. He could smell it. Deep below his skin he
could feel it. The sensation grew into torture. Still he endured
it, holding the matches to the bark that would not light
Suspense
Reread the
highlighted text. How does
this sentence help create
suspense?
because his own clumsy hands were absorbing most of
the flame.
At last, when he could take it no more, he jerked his hands
apart. The blazing matches fell sizzling into the snow, but the
birch bark was on fire.
He began laying grass and twigs on the flame. He could not
pick and choose, for he had to lift with the heels of his hands.
He used his teeth to bite rotten wood and green moss off the
twigs as well as he could. The cold made him awkward, but
he tended the flame with great devotion. It meant life, and
must not go out.
As his blood grew colder, he began to shiver, which made
him even more awkward. A large piece of green moss fell
right on the little fire. He tried to poke it out with his fingers,
but his shivering made him poke too far and break the fire’s
tiny core. The burning grasses and tiny twigs scattered. He
tried to poke them together again, but he was shivering too
much. Each twig went out in a puff of smoke.
The fire provider had failed. He looked around dully and
saw the dog sitting across the ruins of the fire, making
Reread the boxed sentence.
Who is the “fire provider”?
restless, hunching movements, slightly lifting one paw
then the other, shifting its weight back and forth, yearning
and eager.
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The sight of the dog gave him a wild idea. He had heard of
a man, caught in a blizzard, who killed a steer and crawled in
the body, and so was saved. He would kill the dog and sink
his hands in the warm body until the numbness was gone.
Then he could build another fire.
Reread the boxed paragraph.
Why does the man think about
killing the dog?
He spoke to the dog, calling it to him. But his voice had a
strange note of fear that frightened the animal. It had never
heard the man speak that way before. Something was wrong,
and its suspicious nature sensed danger. It did not know what
danger, but somewhere, somehow, in its brain rose a fear of
the man. It flattened its ears down as the man kept talking. Its
hunching and shifting became more restless but it would not
come to the man. The man got on his hands and knees and
crawled toward the dog. This unusual posture caused more
suspicion, and the animal backed away.
The man sat up in the snow for a moment, fighting for
calmness. Then he pulled off his mittens with his teeth, and
got to his feet. He had to look down to make sure he was
really standing, for the lack of feeling in his feet left him with
no connection to the earth.
His standing up made the dog less suspicious, and when he
spoke with whiplashes in his voice, the dog obeyed from habit
and came to him. As it got in reaching distance, the man’s
arms flashed out but his hands could not clutch. He felt real
surprise that there was no bend or feeling in his fingers. He
had somehow forgotten in the heat of the moment that they
were freezing with deadly speed.
All this happened quickly, and before the animal could get
away, he wrapped his arms around its body. He sat down in
the snow and kept hold as it snarled and whined and struggled.
But that was all he could do—hold the dog and sit there.
He had no way to kill it. His helpless hands could not draw or
hold a knife or choke the animal.
A metaphor is a figure of
speech that compares two
unlike things without using
the comparison words like or
as. The phrase whiplashes in
his voice shows that the man’s
voice is commanding and
threatening, like the lashes of a
whip. Which of the following is
another example of metaphor?
Check the correct response.
They looked at the brilliant
sky.
Her keys were missing.
His legs were rubber.
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Remote areas, like the one shown in this photo, are beautiful but also dangerous.
How is the story helping you appreciate the challenges of surviving in the wilderness?
He released it, and it plunged wildly away, its tail between
its legs, still snarling. It stopped forty feet away and watched
him cautiously, with its sharp ears bent forward.
The man looked down to locate his hands, and found them
hanging on the ends of his arms. It struck him as odd that a
man had to use his eyes to find out where his hands were. He
beat the mittened hands against his sides and thrashed his
arms violently for five minutes. This got his heart pumping
enough to stop his shivering. But he still couldn’t feel his
Reread the boxed paragraph.
Have you ever been in a fearful
situation where you didn’t
know the outcome? How did it
make you feel?
hands. He had a sense of weights hanging on the ends of his
arms, but when he tried to strengthen that sense, he could not
find it.
A dull fear of death came over him. This fear quickly
became sharp as he realized it was no longer a matter of
losing his fingers, toes, hands, and feet, but of losing his life.
In a panic, he turned and ran up the creek bed. The dog
joined behind him. He ran blindly, with no plan, in more fear
than he had ever known in his life.
Slowly, as he plowed and stumbled through the snow, he
began to see things again—the banks of the creek, the bare
trees, the sky.
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The running made him feel better. He wasn’t shivering any
more. Maybe if he kept running, his feet would thaw out.
Maybe if he ran far enough, he would reach camp and the
boys. Sure, he would lose fingers and toes and some of his
face, but the boys would take care of him. They would save
the rest of his body.
And at the same time there was another thought in his
mind that he would never get to the camp and the boys. It
was too many miles away, the freezing had too great a start
on him, and he would soon be stiff and dead. He kept this
thought in the background.
Sometimes it pushed itself forward
and demanded to be heard, but he
pushed it back and tried to think of
other things.
It struck him as curious he could
run at all. His feet were so frozen he
couldn’t feel them strike the earth or
take his body weight. He seemed to
glide over the ground without
touching it. Somewhere he had once
seen a statue of a god with wings on
his feet—Mercury. He wondered if
Mercury felt as he felt when
Did You Know?
In Roman mythology, Mercury is
the messenger of the gods. He is
shown wearing a winged hat and
winged sandals.
skimming over the earth.
His plan of running till he reached camp and the boys had
one flaw: he lacked the endurance. Several times he stumbled,
and finally he tottered, cramped up, and fell. When he tried to
rise, he failed.
Reread the boxed sentence.
What is the flaw in the
man’s plan?
He must sit and rest, he decided, and next time he would
just walk and keep going.
He sat there catching his breath, and noticed he was feeling
quite warm and comfortable. He was not shivering, and it
even seemed a warm glow had come into his upper body.
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Still, when he touched his nose or cheeks, there was no
sensation. Running would not thaw them out. Nor would it
thaw out his hands and feet. Then the thought came to him
that the freezing in his body was spreading all over.
He tried to keep this thought down, to forget it, to think of
something else. It made him feel panic, and he was afraid of
that panic. But the thought kept returning as if it had a life of
its own, until it produced a vision of his body totally frozen.
This was too much, and he made another wild run along the
trail. Once he slowed down to a walk, but the thought of the
spreading freeze inside him made him run again.
All the time the dog ran with him, at his heels. When he fell
a second time, it curled its tail over its paws and sat facing
Reread the paragraph boxed in
green. Why is the man angry
with the dog?
him, eager and curious. The warmth and confidence of the
animal angered him. He cursed it till it flattened down its ears.
This time the shivering came to the man more quickly. He
was losing his battle with the frost. It was creeping into his
body from all sides.
This thought made him get up and run again, but after a
hundred feet, he staggered and fell headfirst into the snow.
It was his last panic. When he got his breath and control
back, he sat up and found himself thinking of meeting death
with dignity. The idea came to him because he felt he’d been
making a fool of himself, running around like a chicken with
its head cut off—this was the saying that came to him. Well,
The saying “running around
like a chicken with its head
cut off” comes from the fact
that chickens will sometimes
run around excitedly even
after their heads have been
chopped off. Here the saying
means that the man is running
without any sense of direction.
he was bound to freeze anyway. He might as well take it
decently.
With this newly found peace of mind came the first rays of
sleepiness. A good idea, he thought, to sleep off to death. It
was like taking an anesthetic. Freezing was not so bad as
people thought. There were lots worse ways to die.
Word Power
anesthetic (á-nəs-the-tik) n. a drug that relieves pain by causing a loss
of feeling
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9:54:54 AM
He pictured the boys finding his body next day. Suddenly
he found himself with them, coming along the trail and
looking for himself. And, still with them, he came around a
turn in the trail and found himself lying in the snow.
He did not belong with his body any more, for even then he
was out of it, standing with the boys and looking at himself in
the snow.
It certainly was cold, he thought. When he got back to the
States he could tell the folks what real cold was.
He drifted on from this to a vision of the old-timer at
Sulphur Creek. He could see him clearly, warm and
comfortable, smoking a pipe.
“You were right, old hoss, you were right,” he mumbled to
the old-timer at Sulphur Creek.
Then the man drifted off into what seemed to him the most
The prefix dis- can mean
“the opposite of.” The word
disobey means “to not obey.”
It is the opposite of the root
word “obey.” Write another
word that begins with the
prefix dis- that means the
opposite of the root word.
comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known.
The dog sat facing him, waiting. The short day drew to a
close in a long, slow twilight. It saw no signs of a fire to be
made. Never had it known a man to sit like that in the snow
and make no fire.
As the twilight turned to night, its restless hope of fire
made it disobey the man and give out a soft whine. Then it
flattened its ears, expecting to be yelled at.
But the man remained silent for a long time. The dog
whined louder. Another long time passed. Then it crept close
to the man and caught the scent of death. This made the
Predict
Does your
prediction from page 157
match what happened in the
story, or were you surprised by
the ending? What do you think
will now happen to the dog?
animal’s hair stand on end, and it backed away.
It stayed just a little longer, howling under the stars that
leaped and danced and shone brightly in the cold sky. Then it
turned and trotted up the trail in the direction of the camp
where it knew there were other providers of food and fire.
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A Comprehension Check
Answer the following questions in the spaces provided.
1. Where is the man going at the beginning of the story?
2. What happens to the man and the dog at the end of the story?
B Reading Skills
Answer the following questions in the spaces provided.
1. Sequence Think of two events that happen after the snow puts out the
man’s fire and he is unable to build another fire. Write the events in the
order in which they happen.
2. Sequence What event happens last in the story?
3. Predict The man did not listen to the old-timer. Predict what you think
would have happened if the man had listened to him.
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C Word Power
Complete each sentence below, using one of the words in the box.
frailty
amber
extremities
floundered
provider
surge
thrashing
anesthetic
1. After sledding in the snow all afternoon, the children could hardly feel
their
.
2. The man’s
decreased as his health improved, and
soon he felt the full return of his old strength.
3. The dentist gave the patient an
the painful tooth.
before working on
4. Letricia chose a necklace made of
her new dress.
5. Marta felt a
receive the award.
6. LeBron
a flashlight.
7. Mrs. Reilly, who was the
was happy to start her new job.
8. The swimmers were
rough waters.
to wear with
of pride as she watched her mother
inside the dark tent while looking for
of income for her family,
their arms to stay afloat in the
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D Literary Element: Suspense
Read the passages below from “To Build a Fire.” As you read, think about the
suspense in the story. Then answer the questions that follow.
He spoke to the dog, calling it to him.1 But his voice had a
strange note of fear that frightened the animal.2 It had never heard
the man speak that way before.3 Something was wrong, and its
suspicious nature sensed danger.4 It did not know what danger, but
somewhere, somehow, in its brain rose a fear of the man.5
This was too much, and he made another wild run along the
trail.6 Once he slowed down to a walk, but the thought of the
spreading freeze inside him made him run again.7
1. Reread sentences 1–5. How does the way the author describes the dog’s
reactions create a feeling of suspense for the reader?
2. Reread sentences 6–7. What do these sentences show about the man’s
condition that helps build suspense?
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E Graphic Story
Write a graphic story version of “To Build a Fire.” Look at the drawings below.
Then write your graphic story by completing the sentences. The first frame of
this graphic story takes place after the man falls through the ice.
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Assessment
Fill in the circle next to each correct answer.
1. Which of the following events happens first in the story?
❍ A. The man’s hands become frozen and numb.
❍ B. The man’s spit crackles in the air.
❍ C. Water on the dog’s paws freezes.
❍ D. The dog trots toward the camp.
2. Which sentence below helps to create suspense in the story?
❍ A. “This did not worry the man.”
❍ B. “He began walking, and as an experiment, he spit.”
❍ C. “The trail was faint.”
❍ D. “And then it happened.”
3. What mistake does the man make when he builds his second fire?
❍ A. He builds it under a tree.
❍ B. He does not have matches.
❍ C. He does not have enough twigs.
❍ D. He builds it without a good base.
4. Which sentence from the story best supports an accurate prediction of
what happens at the end?
❍ A. “But before he could cut the strings, it happened.”
❍ B. “After a time he felt the first faraway signals of sensation in his
fingers.”
❍ C. “It struck him as curious he could run at all.”
❍ D. “Then the thought came to him that the freezing in his body was
spreading all over.”
5. Which of the following words means “whipping around”?
❍ A. surge
❍ B. frailty
❍ C. thrashing
❍ D. extremities
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