Question

select the correct text in the passage.
which sentence in this excerpt from stephen cranes \the open boat\ is a metaphor that reflects the naturalistic theme that human life is insignificant before the workings of fate?
\the boat was headed for the beach. the correspondent wondered if none ever ascended the tall wind tower, and if then they never looked seaward. this tower was a giant, standing with its back to the plight of the ants.
it represented in a degree, to the correspondent, the serenity of nature amid the struggles of the individual.\
\the coldness of the water was sad; it was tragic. this fact was somehow so mixed and confused with his opinion of his own situation that it seemed almost a proper reason for tears. the water was cold.

Explanation:

To determine the metaphor reflecting the naturalistic theme of human life's insignificance before fate, we analyze each sentence:

• "This tower was a giant, standing with its back to the plight of the ants": The tower (nature) is a giant, and humans are "ants" (insignificant) with the tower indifferent to their plight. This uses metaphor (tower as giant, humans as ants) to show nature's indifference and human insignificance, matching the theme.
• The other sentences either describe nature's serenity or the water's coldness, not the insignificance of human life before fate.

Answer:

This tower was a giant, standing with its back to the plight of the ants.