The boats docked in the bay bobbed up and down with waves crashing ferociously at the old pier. The old wooden pier stood stubborn and unyielding without budging under the thrashing force. Ashore, the gray skies dampened everyone’s spirits and muffled out the screeching gusty wind for days on end. Even the lively multihued buildings appeared unobtrusive in the cold, wet, and blustery afternoon.

Question

Sebastian noticed there was not much going on around him. Tourists mustn’t have liked the chill in the air and gone downtown to traverse the mall, museum, or movie theater or whatever fancied their imagination.

What would become of us if the business didn’t pick up? thought Sebastian, huddled over a thick hot cup of cocoa as he warmed his gaunt fingers numbed from the cold. His scrawny face simultaneously showed signs of indifference and anxiety. He needed three more rounds to the island with a full load to keep afloat.

“Hey!” A loud voice jolted him out of his thoughts. Sebastian jumped to his feet and turned around, spilling the now lukewarm drink over his faded green parka and fake Sherpa blanket. He sheepishly attempted to wipe the brown mess from his sleeves, but it became messier in his awkward but sincere efforts. He let it go and turned his focus on the loud voice.

“Can you take us down to the island and back?” asked the man, stepping out from a clamorous group of ten or so people. “Hi! My name is Ray Bearden. I am the head of a science expedition team from the Marine Research Institution.”

“We need to get there as soon as possible! There’s more of us coming soon,” shouted a tall woman from the crowd, without giving the perplexed Sebastian a chance to reply. She was carrying massive apparatus in her hands and quite naturally appeared irritated and impatient.

“Yes, sir… I mean, ma’am…” replied Sebastian impatiently, half forgetting who he was responding to in this exchange.

The crowd ripped out a peal of hearty laughter that rang through the dim skies like a dazzling ray of sunlight wiping out all the grayness from the horizon, even though just momentarily. At least, this is what Sebastian felt, alert and spirited from the prospect of keeping up his revenue and making some extra. He rubbed the sticky brown stain on his jacket a little more fervently. His dull eyes gleamed with delight, and his face didn’t appear so scrawny after all.
Paragraph 3 helps develop the theme of the story by —
Responses
A showing that Sebastian is concerned about keeping up his daily wagesshowing that Sebastian is concerned about keeping up his daily wages
B describing Sebastian as skinny because he has barely enough to get bydescribing Sebastian as skinny because he has barely enough to get by
C illustrating that Sebastian is a penniless man looking for workillustrating that Sebastian is a penniless man looking for work
D describing that Sebastian is out in the cold and wet despite ill healthdescribing that Sebastian is out in the cold and wet despite ill health

Answer 1

The best response is:

A showing that Sebastian is concerned about keeping up his daily wages.

This option captures the overarching concern that drives Sebastian throughout the narrative, as he worries about the lack of customers and the need for business to pick up in order to maintain his income.