Themes in The Great Fire

Question 1

Which excerpt from The Great Fire reflects the theme that people inspired others to help restore the city?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

“As the days crept by, more and more people shook off their despondency and began to rebuild their homes and businesses. The energy to start all over seemed to be catching.”

Question 2

Read this excerpt from The Great Fire.When the Waterworks burned down at around three in the morning, the pumping machines went dead, and the water supply to the city stopped. The men at the Tribune would do their best to stamp out and smother the burning embers that landed on the roof, but eventually, the fire won out. The shock felt by White and other citizens when they learned the Tribune was a gutted skeleton was captured perfectly by Charles Mackintosh. After describing at great length how solid and fireproof the Tribune Building was, Mackintosh paused and, with a sad sigh, he concluded, "That is, it was fireproof up to the date of its destruction."

Revolt · Accepted Answer

The fire was so fierce that it destroyed everything in its path.

Question 3

Read this excerpt from The Great Fire.Claire and her father hurried off to join the rest of their family. Claire did not write about this second reunion or of the deep emotions she felt. But as she passed through the blackened landscape and came closer and closer to them, she must have felt much the way another fire victim, Mrs. Charles Forsberg, did: "When we lay down, away from the crowd, and I knew I had my [family] safe, I felt so rich — I have never in my life felt so rich!"

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Loved ones are more valuable than material possessions.

Question 4

Read this excerpt from The Great Fire."I saw a great many kindly acts done as we moved along," White would recall almost fondly. "The poor helped the rich, and the rich helped the poor (if anybody could be called rich at such a time) to get on with their loads. I heard of cartmen demanding one hundred and fifty dollars (in hand, of course) for carrying a single load. Very likely it was so, but those cases did not come under my own notice. It did come under my notice that some cartmen worked for whatever the sufferers felt able to pay, and one I knew worked with alacrity for nothing. It takes all sorts of people to make a great fire."

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Ordinary people can act heroically in chaotic situations.

Question 5

Which excerpt from The Great Fire reflects the theme that rebuilding is possible after a disaster if people join together?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

“It [was] common to see ten or a dozen or fifty houses rising at once; but when one looks upon, not a dozen or fifty, but upon ten thousand houses rising and ten times that number of busy workmen coming and going …”

Question 6

Which excerpt from The Great Fire supports the theme that nature is a powerful force that can be extremely destructive?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

“At its fiercest, such a whirlwind could rip a roof off a house and pick up the building's contents.”

Question 7

Which excerpt from The Great Fire supports the theme that some people try to take advantage of others during disasters?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

I heard of cartmen demanding one hundred and fifty dollars (in hand, of course) for carrying a single load.

Question 8

Read this excerpt from The Great Fire."I saw a great many kindly acts done as we moved along," White would recall almost fondly. "The poor helped the rich, and the rich helped the poor (if anybody could be called rich at such a time) to get on with their loads. I heard of cartmen demanding one hundred and fifty dollars (in hand, of course) for carrying a single load. Very likely it was so, but those cases did not come under my own notice. It did come under my notice that some cartmen worked for whatever the sufferers felt able to pay, and one I knew worked with alacrity for nothing. It takes all sorts of people to make a great fire."

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Some cartmen helped others haul their belongs for little to no pay.

Question 9

Which excerpt from The Great Fire best supports the theme that there was a sense of hope that the city would rebuild after the fire?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

“Alfred Sewell ended his discussion of Chicago with a stirring prediction: ‘The city will nevertheless rise again, nay, is already rising, like the Phoenix, from her ashes. And she will, we believe, be a better city as well as a greater one, than she was before her disaster.’”

Question 10

Which excerpt from The Great Fire supports the theme that people sometimes disregard others in chaotic situations?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

Others weren't so lucky. In the rush and panic, a number of people either lost their footing or were accidentally pushed from the sidewalk and into the busy street.

Themes in The Great Fire Answers

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