Question

This time the shivering came more quickly upon the man. He was losing his battle with the frost. It was creeping into his body from all sides. The thought of it drove him on, but he ran no more than a hundred feet, when he staggered and pitched headlong. It was his last panic.

–“To Build a Fire,”
Jack London

What does this passage from the climax imply about the turning point of the central conflict?

It shows that the man is suffering from even more frostbite.
It reveals that the man has a few more ways to try to survive.
It makes it clear that the man will not survive the extreme cold.
It suggests that the man will live until rescuers arrive to save him.

Answer 1

It makes it clear that the man will not survive the extreme cold.

The language — “losing his battle,” the frost “creeping into his body,” and his “last panic” as he collapses — signals an irreversible turning point: his struggle fails and death is imminent.