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.
- Where was Sam McGee’s hometown?
Sam McGee’s hometown Is Tennessee USA.
- Why was Sam traveling in the Arctic?
He traveled to the arctic for the gold rush.
- What was the last request that Sam made to Cap?
His last request was to cremate his body when he dies.
- How did Cap feel about his promise after some time had passed?
He was so cold that he was debating doing it or not.
- What happened to Cap’s sled dogs? How did this make things worse for Cap?
They were howling when he was riding around. They were getting tired. He got colder by the minute.
- Why was Cap unable to cremate Sam’s remains in the wilderness?
He didn’t because there was nothing to burn in the wilderness
- Where did Cap ultimately cremate Sam’s remains?
He cremated Sam’s remains at a cabin. He used the wood from the cabin
- Hours after placing Sam’s body in the boiler, Cap looked inside. What did he see?
HE was sitting down hours later. He made his body look real. hallunciation
The Cremation of Sam McGee
Section 2
Critical Thinking Questions
Complete these questions on your own and in full sentences.
- 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.
That you shouldn’t give up your life for money and when you are in bad times you can go crazy. “On Christmas day we were mushing our way over the dawson trail” this is an example of how he sacrificed his life to make money and work all day in the cold. Another example is “I was sick with dread” This is an example of him being sick but still grinding.
- 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!”
This quote in my opinion means to push through no matter what and don’t give up. The person saying this makes it seem like he had to travel through the cold and it was hard for him to make it through. Also it can also mean that he was cursing when he had to carry Sam McGee all the way through the arctic and hated it so much.
- In your opinion, why didn’t Cap go back on his promise? Sam would have never known!
In my opinion Cap kept his promise to cremate Sam because they were friends and he felt that if he didn’t keep his promise, he would be haunted. At the end of the story when It says he saw Sam in the boiler sitting he felt like he was still alive and had the feeling that he was going to get killed by Sam. When you don’t keep your promise you will be haunted.
- 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?
He did see the ghost of Sam. HE saw the ghost of Sam because it is impossible to survive that long in the heat and it was a hallucination because he was so cold and in such a bad time of his life. I believe that if he was in Tennessee he would not see him because he would not be in such a bad point of his life.