Answer:
The word "swink" probably means that a lot of effort has been made.
Explanation:
In the text shown above, we can see that the crocodiles worked hard to escape the fire, but all their efforts were in vain. The text presents contextual clues that this effort was violent and intensive even if it did not achieve results, that is, the crocodiles tried to get rid of the fire, but they did not succeed. This very significant effort is directly associated with the word "swink" presented in the text, which allows us to consider that this word means that something laborious and that requires great effort and concentration is being carried out.
Writing forma English means that you use a wide variety of words.
And those words are some pretty smart words, not the usual ones that are used in everyday speech.
To begin with letter 3, It could be said that the main theme is determination because Walton feels confident about the voyage and he is ´determined' to go on with it despite the weather conditions.
As regards letter 4, we might say that the theme may be trust and friendship because Frankenstein and Walton met and he is will to tell him the his story. So this letter might be seen as the beginning of their friendship.