Exploring the Beauty of Alaska: A Chronicle of Adventure

The Thrilling Adventure in Alaska

The passage below captures the thrilling experience of a man exploring the rocky terrains and dense forests of Alaska. From encountering newborn bergs to cherishing the beauty of the wilderness, every moment is filled with awe and wonder.

(1)It was now near dark, and I made haste to make up my flimsy little tent. The ground was desperately rocky. I made out, however, to level down a strip large enough to lie on, and by means of slim alder stems bent over it and tied together soon had a home. While thus busily engaged I was startled by a thundering roar across the lake. Running to the top of the moraine, I discovered that the tremendous noise was only the outcry of a newborn berg about fifty or sixty feet in diameter, rocking and wallowing in the waves it had raised as if enjoying its freedom after its long grinding work as part of the glacier. After this fine last lesson I managed to make a small fire out of wet twigs, got a cup of tea, stripped off my dripping clothing, wrapped myself in a blanket and lay brooding on the gains of the day and plans for the morrow, glad, rich, and almost comfortable.

(2)It was raining hard when I awoke, but I made up my mind to disregard the weather, put on my dripping clothing, glad to know it was fresh and clean; ate biscuits and a piece of dried salmon without attempting to make a tea fire; filled a bag with hardtack, slung it over my shoulder, and with my indispensable ice-axe plunged once more into the dripping jungle. I found my bridge holding bravely in place against the swollen torrent, crossed it and beat my way around pools and logs and through two hours of tangle back to the moraine on the north side of the outlet,—a wet, weary battle but not without enjoyment. The smell of the washed ground and vegetation made every breath a pleasure, and I found Calypso borealis, the first I had seen on this side of the continent, one of my darlings, worth any amount of hardship; and I saw one of my Douglas squirrels on the margin of the grassy pool. The drip of the rain on the various leaves was pleasant to hear. More especially marked were the flat low-toned bumps and splashes of large drops from the trees on the broad horizontal leaves of Echinopanax horridum, like the drumming of thundershower drops on veratrum and palm leaves, while the mosses were indescribably beautiful, so fresh, so bright, so cheerily green, and all so low and calm and silent, however heavy and wild the wind and the rain blowing and pouring above them. Surely never a particle of dust has touched leaf or crown of all these blessed mosses; and how bright were the red rims of the cladonia cups beside them, and the fruit of the dwarf cornel! And the wet berries, Nature's precious jewelry, how beautiful they were!—huckleberries with pale bloom and a crystal drop on each; red and yellow salmon-berries, with clusters of smaller drops; and the glittering, berry-like raindrops adorning the interlacing arches of bent grasses and sedges around the edges of the pools, every drop a mirror with all the landscape in it. A' that and a' that and twice as muckle's a' that in this glorious Alaska day, recalling, however different, George Herbert's "Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright."

(3)In the gardens and forests of this wonderful moraine one might spend a whole joyful life.

1 A rare orchid found in northern, mountainous areas.
2 Also called Devil's Club, Echinopanax is a large-leafed shrub that grows in moist, dense forests mostly in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
3 Reference to Scottish poet, Robert Burns's poem that rejoices over the wide variety of positive traits in his wife.
4 Reference to a George Herbert poem that celebrates the glory found in nature and mourns the fact that it all must die.

Question: What is the effect of the author's use of "my" in the excerpt, "... and I saw one of my Douglas squirrels on the margin of the grassy pool ... "?

A. It convinces the reader that he owns the land he is exploring.
B. It supports the notion that nature should be shared by all.
C. It shows that he rejects the notion that nature can be owned.
D. It reveals his desire to keep others away from his paradise.
E. It demonstrates his personal connection with nature.

Answer:

E.

Explanation:

The author feels a deep love and connection with nature and plants.