The Cremation of Sam Mcgee
Reading Comprehension Questions:
Section 1 – Literal Questions
Complete these questions on your own to show your understanding of the elements of the story found in the poem. Please write in full sentences.

1. Where was Sam McGee’s hometown?
Tennessee
2. Why was Sam traveling in the Arctic?
Gold mine

3. What was the last request that Sam made to Cap?
To cremate his body because its cold

4. How did Cap feel about his promise after some time had passed?
It haunted him

5. What happened to Cap’s sled dogs? How did this make things worse for Cap?
The dogs got tired

 

6. Why was Cap unable to cremate Sam’s remains in the wilderness?
He couldn’t find any way of cremating the body
7. Where did Cap ultimately cremate Sam’s remains?

In a lake he found with some wood from the cabin.
8. Hours after placing Sam’s body in the boiler, Cap looked inside. What did he see?

Sam was alive but wanted to stay there.

 

 

 

The Cremation of Sam McGee
Section 2
Critical Thinking Questions

Complete these questions on your own and in full sentences.

1. You know that theme is the message the author wants you, the reader, to walk away from this poem with. What is the message/theme Robert Service is trying to share with you? Be able to support your theme with evidence from the poem.
The theme to this story is that friendship and how you always keep promises to friends even if its hard. Cap kept his promise to sam even thought sam would have never known he didn’t complete the promise. Cap found it hard to do and it haunted him to have to burn his friend but he wasn’t going to break the promise he made to his friend for his last dying wish. Sam constantly said things like ‘’It’s the cursèd cold, and it’s got right hold till I’m chilled clean through to the bone.’’ Which made cap know that no matter what he must keep his promise. ‘’You may tax your brawn and brains, but you promised true, and it’s up to you to cremate those last remains.”

 

2. What does this passage mean to you, “In the days to come, though my lips were dumb, in my heart how I cursed that load!”
That passage means that the promise to sam that he’d cremate him was a hard load that might haunt him and his lips are dumb for agreeing but he made the promis e and must keep it.

 

3. In your opinion, why didn’t Cap go back on his promise? Sam would have never known!
Because cap knows that in some way sam would know and that he has to grant sams dying wish even if its hard to do. He searched far to find somewhere to cremate the body of his friend. ‘’The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, but I swore I would not give in;
And I’d often sing to the hateful thing, and it hearkened with a grin.’’

 

4. What really happened when Cap opened that boiler? Did he really see the ghost of Sam? Was he hallucinating? What do you think, and why do you think this?

I think cap saw a hallucination that showed that his friend was thankful that no matter what cap kept that promise and brought him to a place that was warm for him to lay for the rest of eternity. The hallucinations was something caps mind made up so that he knew he had done the right thing and helped his friend.