Themes in The Great Fire

Question 5 • 2025/26 IGC-English II - Prescriptive

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

Answer

An exhausted Chamberlin came to the Randolph Street Bridge and discovered “a torrent of humanity pouring over the bridge.”

A few were rushing to get out a special edition about the fire, while the rest were on the roof hosing it down with water.

“He had taken a dray, but was unable to load all of his goods into the vehicle, so he employed half a dozen boys, gave each of them a coffin, took a large one himself, and headed the weird procession…”

“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 …”

Explanation

The excerpt describes thousands of houses being rebuilt and many workmen “coming and going,” showing a large community effort to restore the city after the fire. That matches the theme that people can rebuild after disaster by working together. The other excerpts focus on fleeing, protecting a newspaper, or moving personal belongings.

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