Question

Read the excerpt from Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.

He spread his arms wide against the ocean sounds: the rush of the waves, the manic giggles of the gulls, the sighing of the sea breeze against the granite. He put his back to all of Phippsburg—Lord, to the entire continent—till with a shrug he sloughed off its heavy stillness and looked for a way to climb down to the water. . . . [F]inally he was down on the beach, breathing hard and deep, like something that was only just coming alive and drinking in the liquid air for the first delicious time.

Which best states how Turner’s internal conflict is connected to the setting?

Turner feels stifled in the town but free in the open air of the beach.
Turner feels used to the town but unsure of himself on the beach.
Turner feels there is a lot to do in the town but not much to do at the beach.
Turner feels criticized by people in the town but criticized by God at the beach.

Answer 1

Turner feels stifled in the town but free in the open air of the beach.

The passage shows him shrugging off the “heavy stillness” of Phippsburg and coming alive when he reaches the beach, which emphasizes freedom and release.