I believe the answer to your question is "wood". This is because people usually get slivers from wood, and considering the start of you last word, it seems to make sense. Also the previous analogy thing, Speck is to dust, is a very realistic analogy thing, so the next one would probably need to be realistic. I hope I helped! And if you need more information, please tell me. :D
Answer:
He ran into a manatee.
so the answer is manatee.
Basically you'd call a person who always expects the worst outcomes from anything a pessimist, a person who always thinks the worst and isn't optimistic.
Answer:
The man faces the conflict of surviving a harsh environment in order to reach his camp by the end of the day. The resolution of this conflict is that the man does not win in his struggle against nature. After suffering serious frostbite and one last panicked attempt to run to his camp, he sits down in the snow, sure that he will die
