What is suggested by 'the water going where it pleased'?
They had been telling us for years that the harbour would not last, and for years we had not listened, because the harbour had always been there. It had outlived the herring, the railway, the cannery, and three generations of men who swore it would see them out. Yet this winter, when the first storm took the lamp from the end of the wall and the second took the wall itself, nobody spoke of it as a surprise. They stood in the half-light, hands in pockets, and looked at the water going where it pleased. There is a particular silence that comes when a thing is lost that everyone secretly knew was fragile, and I have never heard it so loud.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. The sea is free and no longer held back
- Step 1: 'Pleased' gives the sea a will of its own (personification).
- Step 2: With the wall gone, nothing restrains it.
Answer
The sea is free and no longer held back.
Why not the others: The water is calm and gentle after the storms: the storms have just ended and the water is uncontrolled. The villagers have asked the water to leave: this is not stated. The water is polluted: pollution is not mentioned.
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