“The Fireman”
1) “The Fireman” employs motif in a manner that builds to theme and meaning. In the same way that the main character in the story uses firefighting as a second job, the story uses fire as an image that repeats throughout the story. This provides the story with unity and theme, but it’s also like a hunt for clues, or a scavenger hunt. Read this story closely, especially pages 13-17.
2) Next, watch my brief video (video is close-captioned) analyzing a portion of the story.
3) Go through the story, especially pages 13-17, and find four key points in the text where fire, smoke, a place on fire, or something specific to firefighting is described. Identify these portions of the text on your worksheet and explain how they a) discuss some larger concept, or truth, about fire or firefighting but also b) connect to or stand in for a more abstract idea about relationships.
4) Look at the four key points from the text all together and see if they are meant to say something surprising about love, marriage, and/or relationships.
Sample Solution
Cities are being struck one by one by a horrific new plague. Dragonscale is a highly contagious, fatal spore that leaves gorgeous black and gold patterns all over its victims’ bodies before causing them to erupt in flames. Thousands of people have been afflicted, and fires have erupted all over the place. There is no way to stop it. There is no one who is safe.
Before her hospital burned down, Harper Grayson, a dedicated nurse, treated hundreds of diseased patients. She’s now noticed the distinctive gold-flecked marks on her skin. When the outbreak first began, she and her husband, Jakob, made a deal: if they become sick, they would take matters into their own hands.
