they bought canned food instead of bagged food

they packed extra tents and dishes

Mercedes jumped on the back

Mercedes' luggage was too heavy

he had a bad feeling about the trip

he had too many broken bones

he was unaware that they were leaving because he was in such pain

there were not enough dogs to pull the sled

pulling out a gun

hitting Hal’s knuckles with an axe handle

stepping out of the way

attacking him from the back

he is very strong

he knows about the dangerous areas of ice

he cares about animals

he has plenty of food

they carried a larger pole

they put less weight on the sled

they listened to Thornton’s advice

went back to Dawson

It is hard work to retrace your steps on the trail.

The dogs work very hard on the trail, and it has a

negative effect on them.

They have to pay a toll to follow the trace.

It is difficult to travel on the trail, so they have to make a map of where they have been.

Buck was angry because his owners were stupid.

Buck was the sled leader, and they would be late if they stopped.

Hal did not know how to stop the sled team.

Buck was trying to catch up with other sled dog teams.

It was wintertime and they were facing a blizzard.

It was summertime and there was not any snow to ride the sled over.

Springtime arrives, and the ice begins to melt. This is dangerous for the dogs when they are traveling over frozen ponds.

As the weather warmed up, it began to rain, and the ice was too slick to stand on.

Thornton told them their sled was too full, and that they needed to empty it out.

Thornton bragged on their expertise and advised them to teach others.

Thornton advised them that there were too many dogs on their sled team.

Thornton advised that the ice was melting, and that it was not safe to proceed to Skagway.

lack of eagerness

lack of intelligence

lack of patience

lack of experience

It adds fuel to Hal’s and Charles’ frustration as they try to get the dogs to pull the sled.

It reinforces the opinions of the onlookers who suggested the trio lighten the load on the sled.

It reveals the onlooker’s anger who lacks respect for the men because of their treatment of the dogs.

It illustrates the good­natured humor of the onlookers who find the failure of dogsled team comical.

“The two men, however, were quite cheerful. And they were proud, too.”

“They were doing the thing in style, with fourteen dogs. . . . never had they seen a sled with so many as fourteen dogs.”

“There was a reason why fourteen dogs should not drag one sled . . . Charles and Hal did not know this.”

“They had worked the trip out with a pencil, so much to a dog, so many dogs, and so many days. . . . it was all so very simple.”

The texts develop contrasting perspectives among the main character(s) and other characters in the text.

The texts use flashbacks and flashforwards to reveal the impact of each character’s decisions.

The texts set up a problem and then describe how the main characters solve the problem.

The texts tell the story in chronological order to emphasize how quickly the events unfold.

The way a person treats an animal reveals that person’s character.

Animal instinct is greater than human reason.

The natural world is unforgiving and no place for humans.

Excessive pride leads to a person’s demise.