“To Build a Fire” TSP

Due Monday, April 6,2009

Sometimes an author will include a minor character who has virtues that the protagonist
lacks. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire,” that minor character is a dog. The dog
consistently displays more innate common sense and wisdom than the narrator. Write a
TSP in which you compare AND contrast the dog’s and the man’s attitudes toward the
dangerously cold journey they are taking. Include at least THREE specific actions of the
dog that show its instincts, under the circumstances, to be superior to the man’s
judgment.

Grading Guide
1. Does the thesis statement introduce the comparison and contrast of the man’s
attitudes with the dog’s attitudes in “To Build a Fire”?

2. How are the man’s judgment and the dog’s instincts similar? How are they
different?

3. What three actions of the dog does the writer say show that its instincts are
superior to the man’s judgment?

4. Is the essay free from grammar errors?