frosted cheeks? A bit painful, that was all; they were never serious.

Question

Empty as the man’s mind was of thoughts, he was keenly observant, and he noticed the changes in the creek, the curves and bends and timber-jams, and always he sharply noted where he placed his feet. Once, coming around a bend, he shied abruptly, like a startled horse, curved away from the place where he had been walking, and retreated several paces back along the trail. The creek he knew was frozen clear to the bottom—no creek could contain water in that arctic winter—but he knew also that there were springs that bubbled out from the hillsides and ran along under the snow and on top the ice of the creek. He knew that the coldest snaps never froze these springs, and he knew likewise their danger. They were traps. They hid pools of water under the snow that might be three inches deep, or three feet. Sometimes a skin of ice half an inch thick covered them, and in turn was covered by the snow. Sometimes there were alternate layers of water and ice-skin, so that when one broke through he kept on breaking through for a while, sometimes wetting himself to the waist.

1 of 2
Question
Use the passage from “To Build a Fire” by Jack London to answer the question.

Which universal theme is developed in this text?

(1 point)
Responses

coming of age
coming of age

man versus nature
man versus nature

good versus evil
good versus evil

the circle of life

Answer 1

The universal theme developed in the text is man versus nature. The passage highlights the challenges and dangers posed by the natural environment, particularly in the context of the cold and the unpredictable terrain of the creek.