Jack London- To build a Fire

Marsha L. (United States of America)
96 words 20 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. E. L. Doctorow
    United States novelist (born in 1931)
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  2. Jack London
    United States writer of novels based on experiences in the Klondike gold rush (1876-1916)
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  3. motif
    a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work
    A few months later, after the magazine was printed, London responded to Gilder:

    [The original story] was purely juvenile in treatment; its motif was not only very strong, but was very true.
  4. provenance
    where something originated or started
    It was accepted and published, but questions were raised about the provenance of the story.
  5. Doctorow
    United States novelist (born in 1931)
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  6. dustbin
    a bin that holds rubbish until it is collected
    And, while the original version of “To Build a Fire” would surely have been lost and forgotten in the dustbins of yellowing magazines, the 1908 version is still considered by many readers as the best short story London ever wrote.
  7. gilder
    someone whose occupation is to apply an overlay of gold or gilt
    Six years later he recalled the story, wrote a new version, and sent it to Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century Magazine.
  8. table of contents
    a list of what is included and where it can be found
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  9. instructional
    of or relating to or used in instruction
    The version for boys is instructional and moralistic; the later version is a classic in naturalism (indeed, Nature is as much a character as the unnamed traveler of the story).
  10. timberland
    land that is covered with trees and shrubs
    Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.
  11. moralistic
    narrowly and conventionally moral
    The version for boys is instructional and moralistic; the later version is a classic in naturalism (indeed, Nature is as much a character as the unnamed traveler of the story).
  12. iron heel
    an instrument of torture that is used to heat or crush the foot and leg
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack London: ...
  13. John Barleycorn
    an alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack London: ...
  14. ethically
    in an ethical manner
    I can only say that it never entered my head that there was anything ethically wrong in handing the same motif over again in the way I did .
  15. barleycorn
    a grain of barley
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack London: ...
  16. version
    something a little different from others of the same type
    Six years later he recalled the story, wrote a new version, and sent it to Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century Magazine.
  17. northernmost
    situated closest to the pole above the equator
    Fortunately (unless you happen to live on the northernmost shore of the continent), it’s still 50 to 120 degrees warmer than the temperatures endured by the man and his dog in “To Build a Fire.”
  18. naturalism
    an artistic movement emphasizing realistic description
    The version for boys is instructional and moralistic; the later version is a classic in naturalism (indeed, Nature is as much a character as the unnamed traveler of the story).
  19. humanities
    studies intended to provide general knowledge and skills
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  20. Fang
    a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  21. Yukon
    a territory in northwestern Canada
    Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.
  22. story
    a record or narrative description of past events
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  23. juvenile
    of or relating to children or young people
    A few months later, after the magazine was printed, London responded to Gilder:

    [The original story] was purely juvenile in treatment; its motif was not only very strong, but was very true.
  24. London
    the capital and largest city of England
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  25. Jack
    a man who serves as a sailor
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  26. web
    an intricate network suggesting something that was formed by weaving or interweaving
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  27. Writings
    the third of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack London: ...
  28. intangible
    incapable of being perceived by the senses, especially touch
    It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun.
  29. dissimilar
    not alike
    The stories are so dissimilar that it’s surprising the matter came up at all.
  30. commemoration
    a recognition of meritorious service
    Get a free Library of America book:We encourage you to offer your own suggestion—a story, essay, narrative poem, or article from any Library of America volume (which can be found listed here)—along with two or three sentences noting anything that might be of related interest to our readers: a current event, a commemoration, a new publication, etc.
  31. unnamed
    being or having an unknown or unnamed source
    The version for boys is instructional and moralistic; the later version is a classic in naturalism (indeed, Nature is as much a character as the unnamed traveler of the story).
  32. Call
    a special disposition to pursue a particular course
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  33. magazine
    a periodic publication containing articles and pictures
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack London: ...
  34. shipping
    the commercial enterprise of moving goods and materials
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  35. short story
    a brief but fully developed prose narrative
    And, while the original version of “To Build a Fire” would surely have been lost and forgotten in the dustbins of yellowing magazines, the 1908 version is still considered by many readers as the best short story London ever wrote.
  36. confident
    having or marked by assurance
    I do not remember anything about the way I handled it for juveniles, but I do know, I am absolutely confident, that beyond the motif itself, there is no similarity of treatment whatsoever.
  37. pall
    burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
    It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun.
  38. spruce
    a tall evergreen tree that produces cones
    Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.
  39. library
    a place containing books and other materials for reading
    Get a free Library of America book:We encourage you to offer your own suggestion—a story, essay, narrative poem, or article from any Library of America volume (which can be found listed here)—along with two or three sentences noting anything that might be of related interest to our readers: a current event, a commemoration, a new publication, etc.
  40. warmer
    device that heats water or supplies warmth to a room
    Fortunately (unless you happen to live on the northernmost shore of the continent), it’s still 50 to 120 degrees warmer than the temperatures endured by the man and his dog in “To Build a Fire.”
  41. listed
    on a list
    Get a free Library of America book:We encourage you to offer your own suggestion—a story, essay, narrative poem, or article from any Library of America volume (which can be found listed here)—along with two or three sentences noting anything that might be of related interest to our readers: a current event, a commemoration, a new publication, etc.
  42. similarity
    the quality of being alike
    I do not remember anything about the way I handled it for juveniles, but I do know, I am absolutely confident, that beyond the motif itself, there is no similarity of treatment whatsoever.
  43. endowment
    natural abilities or qualities
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  44. treatment
    the management of someone or something
    A few months later, after the magazine was printed, London responded to Gilder:

    [The original story] was purely juvenile in treatment; its motif was not only very strong, but was very true.
  45. essay
    an analytic or interpretive literary composition
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack London: ...
  46. novel
    an extended fictional work in prose
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  47. cold
    having a low or inadequate temperature
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  48. abyss
    a bottomless gulf or pit
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack London: ...
  49. North America
    a continent (the third largest) in the western hemisphere connected to South America by the Isthmus of Panama
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  50. Watson
    United States telephone engineer who assisted Alexander Graham Bell in his experiments (1854-1934)
    Six years later he recalled the story, wrote a new version, and sent it to Richard Watson Gilder, editor of The Century Magazine.
  51. contents
    a list of divisions and the pages on which they start
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  52. forum
    a public facility to meet for open discussion
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  53. introduction
    the act of beginning something new
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  54. links
    a golf course that is built on sandy ground near a shore
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  55. inadequate
    lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task
    As the years went by, I was worried by the inadequate treatment I had given the motif, and by the fact that I had treated it for boys merely.
  56. Alaska
    a state in northwestern North America
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  57. Eden
    a beautiful garden where Adam and Eve were placed at the Creation; when they disobeyed and ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they were driven from their paradise (the fall of man)
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack London: ...
  58. America
    North America and South America and Central America
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  59. free
    able to act at will
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  60. mature
    having reached full natural growth or development
    Except for the basic premise and the title, everything about the second version is different: London’s more mature and confident style, the story's length (the “adult” version is nearly three times longer), and—most significant of all—the outcome.
  61. Wolf
    Austrian composer (1860-1903)
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  62. reader
    a person who can read; a literate person
    And, while the original version of “To Build a Fire” would surely have been lost and forgotten in the dustbins of yellowing magazines, the 1908 version is still considered by many readers as the best short story London ever wrote.
  63. Austin
    state capital of Texas on the Colorado River
    This week’s selection was recommended by Story of the Week reader Ben Ostrander of Austin, Texas, who thought it “appropriate for the cold winter in the United States or anywhere the cold winds are blowing.”
  64. suggestion
    an idea that is proposed
    Get a free Library of America book:We encourage you to offer your own suggestion—a story, essay, narrative poem, or article from any Library of America volume (which can be found listed here)—along with two or three sentences noting anything that might be of related interest to our readers: a current event, a commemoration, a new publication, etc.
  65. premise
    a statement that is held to be true
    Except for the basic premise and the title, everything about the second version is different: London’s more mature and confident style, the story's length (the “adult” version is nearly three times longer), and—most significant of all—the outcome.
  66. outcome
    something that results
    Except for the basic premise and the title, everything about the second version is different: London’s more mature and confident style, the story's length (the “adult” version is nearly three times longer), and—most significant of all—the outcome.
  67. store
    a mercantile establishment for the sale of goods or services
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  68. whatsoever
    one or some or every or all without specification
    I do not remember anything about the way I handled it for juveniles, but I do know, I am absolutely confident, that beyond the motif itself, there is no similarity of treatment whatsoever.
  69. gray
    of an achromatic color intermediate between white and black
    Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.
  70. worry
    a strong feeling of anxiety
    As the years went by, I was worried by the inadequate treatment I had given the motif, and by the fact that I had treated it for boys merely.
  71. recommendation
    praise of a person or thing as worthy or desirable
    Send your recommendation to [email protected] with the subject line, “Story of the Week idea.”
  72. trail
    a path or track
    Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.
  73. handled
    having a usually specified type of handle
    I do not remember anything about the way I handled it for juveniles, but I do know, I am absolutely confident, that beyond the motif itself, there is no similarity of treatment whatsoever.
  74. eastward
    toward the east
    Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.
  75. over again
    anew
    I can only say that it never entered my head that there was anything ethically wrong in handing the same motif over again in the way I did .
  76. 120
    the cardinal number that is the product of ten and twelve
    Fortunately (unless you happen to live on the northernmost shore of the continent), it’s still 50 to 120 degrees warmer than the temperatures endured by the man and his dog in “To Build a Fire.”
  77. traveler
    a person who changes location
    The version for boys is instructional and moralistic; the later version is a classic in naturalism (indeed, Nature is as much a character as the unnamed traveler of the story).
  78. be due
    be the result of
    It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun.
  79. price
    the amount of money needed to purchase something
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack Lo...
  80. build
    make by combining materials and parts
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  81. travelled
    familiar with many parts of the world
    Day had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce timberland.
  82. appropriate
    suitable for a particular person, place, or situation
    This week’s selection was recommended by Story of the Week reader Ben Ostrander of Austin, Texas, who thought it “appropriate for the cold winter in the United States or anywhere the cold winds are blowing.”
  83. subtle
    difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze
    It was a clear day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun.
  84. access
    the right to enter
    I had no access to the boys’ version of it, and I wrote it just as though I had never used the motif before.
  85. fortunately
    by good fortune
    Fortunately (unless you happen to live on the northernmost shore of the continent), it’s still 50 to 120 degrees warmer than the temperatures endured by the man and his dog in “To Build a Fire.”
  86. companion
    a friend who is frequently with another
    Jack London’s To ‘Build a Fire’,” (National Endowment for the Humanities)

    Previously from
    Story of the Week
    “War,” Jack London

    Buy this book:
    Jack London: Novels and Stories
    The Call of the Wild • White Fang • The Sea-Wolf • 25 stories
    See the table of contents
    1,021 pages
    Web store price: $35.00, with free shipping

    In paperback:
    Jack London: The Call of the Wild
    Introduction by E. L. Doctorow
    Web store price: $6.36, with free shipping

    Also of interest:
    Jack London: ...
  87. article
    one of a class of artifacts
    Get a free Library of America book:We encourage you to offer your own suggestion—a story, essay, narrative poem, or article from any Library of America volume (which can be found listed here)—along with two or three sentences noting anything that might be of related interest to our readers: a current event, a commemoration, a new publication, etc.
  88. treat
    apply a process to with the aim of preparing for a purpose
    As the years went by, I was worried by the inadequate treatment I had given the motif, and by the fact that I had treated it for boys merely.
  89. United States
    North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776
    This week’s selection was recommended by Story of the Week reader Ben Ostrander of Austin, Texas, who thought it “appropriate for the cold winter in the United States or anywhere the cold winds are blowing.”
  90. winter
    the coldest season of the year
    This week’s selection was recommended by Story of the Week reader Ben Ostrander of Austin, Texas, who thought it “appropriate for the cold winter in the United States or anywhere the cold winds are blowing.”
  91. there
    in or at that place
    I do not remember anything about the way I handled it for juveniles, but I do know, I am absolutely confident, that beyond the motif itself, there is no similarity of treatment whatsoever.
  92. North
    the region of the United States lying to the north of the Mason-Dixon line
    To Build a Fire
    Jack London (1876–1916)
    From Jack London: Novels and Stories


    Interesting Links
    “The Coldest Place in North America,” by Ned Rozell (Alaska Science Forum)

    Resources for Teachers
    “Knowledge or Instinct?
  93. considered
    carefully weighed
    And, while the original version of “To Build a Fire” would surely have been lost and forgotten in the dustbins of yellowing magazines, the 1908 version is still considered by many readers as the best short story London ever wrote.
  94. shore
    the land along the edge of a body of water
    Fortunately (unless you happen to live on the northernmost shore of the continent), it’s still 50 to 120 degrees warmer than the temperatures endured by the man and his dog in “To Build a Fire.”
  95. merely
    and nothing more
    As the years went by, I was worried by the inadequate treatment I had given the motif, and by the fact that I had treated it for boys merely.
  96. just as
    at the same time as
    I had no access to the boys’ version of it, and I wrote it just as though I had never used the motif before.
Created on Sun Mar 06 19:09:08 EST 2011

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.