Question

a days lodging
by jack london (adapted excerpt)
he urged the dogs to their work again. he had travelled on the frozen
surface of a great river. behind him it stretched away in a mighty curve of
many miles, losing itself in a fantastic jumble of mountains, snow - covered
and silent. ahead of him the river split into many channels to accommodate
the freight of islands it carried on its breast. these islands were silent and
white; no animals nor humming insects broke the silence; no birds flew in
the chill air. there was no sound of man, nor mark of the handiwork of man
—the world slept.
john messner seemed succumbing to the apathy of it all as the frost was
benumbing his spirit. he plodded on with bowed head, unobservant,
mechanically rubbing nose and cheeks, and batting his steering hand
against the gee - pole in the straight trail - stretches. but the dogs were
observant, and suddenly they stopped, turning their heads and looking back
at their master out of eyes that were wistful and questioning. their eyelashes
were frosted white, as were their muzzles, and they had all the seeming of
decrepit old age, what of the frost - rime and exhaustion.
the man was about to urge them on, when he checked himself, roused up
with an effort, and looked around. the dogs had stopped beside a water-
hole, not a fissure, but a hole man - made, chopped laboriously with an axe
through three and a half feet of ice. a thick skin of new ice showed that it had
not been used for some time. messner glanced about himself. the dogs
were already pointing the way, each wistful and hoary muzzle turned toward
the dim snow - path that left the main river trail and climbed the bank of the
island.
\all right,\ he said. \ill investigate. youre not a bit more anxious to quit than i
am.\
4
select the correct answer.
what effect does the author create as john messner struggles to maneuver in the unmarked wilderness?
a. tension
b. imagery
c. surprise
d. irony
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Explanation:

To determine the effect, analyze each option:

• Option A (tension): The struggle in unmarked wilderness (John’s apathy, dogs’ exhaustion, finding a man - made hole) creates a sense of suspense about what will happen next, building tension.
• Option B (imagery): Imagery is about descriptive language, but the question is about the effect of the struggle, not just description.
• Option C (surprise): The events (dogs stopping at a hole) don’t create a “surprise” effect as much as a tense situation.
• Option D (irony): There’s no contrast between expectation and reality here.

Answer:

A. tension