Destruction
Vocabulary
People of San Fran
Literary Terms
Quotes from the Story
100

Why were some of the buildings dynamited?

to prevent them from falling

100

People carried valuables and anything that was ________ to them.

dear

100

How did the people of San Francisco behave during the tragedy?

They were kind and courteous, helping each other to safety.

100

“The Story of an Eyewitness” is an example of which genre of literature?

informative nonfiction

100

MAKE AN INFERENCE: “Never in all of San Francisco’s history, were her people so kind and courteous as on this night of terror.” Why do you think people acted this way?

They were concerned with the needs of others.

200

What caused the greatest damage in San Francisco?

Fire

200

With both sides of the street on fire, people were often _______ by burning buildings.

flanked

200

On Wednesday night, according to London, as “tens of thousands fled before the flames,” what one thing did people hold onto the longest?

their trunks

200

What is the author’s primary purpose in “The Story of an Eyewitness”?

to inform

200

The article starts with “Wednesday morning at a quarter past five.” How many days and nights are covered in London’s story?

2

300

Why was the government setting up tents and serving meals in Union Square just four and a half hours before it caught fire?

No one thought the fires would spread so quickly

300

London compared the city to a shipwreck and its people to the _______ that covers the waves when a great ship goes down.

flotsom

300

Name one thing London observes on his walk through the city on Thursday morning?

The shattered dome of the City Hall.     

Wreckage piled high on Market Street. 

A dozen roasted steers in a neat row on Mission Street. 

300

“The smoke of San Francisco burning was a lurid tower” is an example of what type of figurative language?

metaphor

300

According to London, what man-made device was “lavishly used” to crumble “many of San Francisco’s proudest structures...into ruins”?

dynamite

400

The wind racing into the city on all sides was caused primarily by the....

vacuum created by the fire

400

Jack could not give an ________ of all the people who were killed, because many bodies were burned in the fire.

enumeration

400

Why were soldiers sent to the disaster?

prevent looting

400

“Thus did the fire of itself build its own colossal chimney through the atmosphere.” This sentence is an example of…

personification

400

By nine o’ clock on Wednesday evening, even though “miles and miles of magnificent buildings” remained in perfect order, London concluded that the city “was doomed, all of it.” Why?

No water was left to douse the approaching fire.

500

How long did the earthquake last?

30 seconds

500

 Jack described how the _______ had fled with what they could carry.

refugees

500

What hopeful observation does London make at the end of his feature story?

Thanks to the immediate relief given by the US govt., there is not the slightest possibility of a famine.

500

“From every side came the roaring of flames, the crashing of walls, and the detonations of dynamite” is an example of what type of figurative language?

imagery

500

“Remarkable as it may seem, Wednesday night while the whole city crashed and roared into ruin, was a quiet night.” What literary term can be used to describe this?

irony