Final answer:
Stephen was paired with Leka for lumberjack work during a period of his life when he was open to any type of job. The texts reflect the difficulty and diversity of work he and others had to accept to survive, often under challenging societal conditions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The provided excerpts narrate challenging work scenarios from different historical perspectives, primarily focusing on the hardships and laborious activities individuals like Stephen, Fred, and others had to endure. The experiences range from sawing wood and shoveling coal in a New Bedford town to fighting off racially motivated attacks as an apprentice to combative situations influenced by social hierarchical class and race issues.
Specifically, Stephen was paired with Leka for lumberjack work during a time and in a place where job opportunities were approached with a readiness to undertake any kind of labor regardless of its difficulty or cleanliness. This snapshot of Stephen's life likely represents the transition period in which he was trying to find stable work to support himself.
Labor-intensive tasks, a fight for equality, and a struggle to understand the socio-economic divide are recurrent themes throughout these passages, displaying the relentless spirit and survival efforts of the individuals faced with these challenges.