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Read the passage and answer the following question(s).

Spoon River Anthology
George Gray
by Edgar Lee Masters
I have studied many times
The marble which was chiseled for me —
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination
5But my life.
For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;
Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.
Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
10And now I know that we must lift the sail
And catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat.
To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness,
But life without meaning is the torture
15Of restlessness and vague desire —
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.

"Spoon River Anthology: George Gray" by Edgar Lee Masters, from The Complete Collection of Edgar Lee Masters. In the public domain.

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer
by Walt Whitman
When I heard the learn’d astronomer;
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;
When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in
the lecture room,
5How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;
Till rising and gliding out, I wander’d off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman, from Leaves of Grass. In the public domain.

Which best describes the connection between the image of the boat and a main theme of "Spoon River Anthology: George Gray"?

A.
The boat and its sail suggest the anticipation of new adventure.

B.
The boat at rest suggests the peace that comes when reflecting on a long life.

C.
The boat and the strong material from which it is made suggest a refusal to yield.

D.
The boat in its harbor suggests the lost promise of a life where no chances are taken.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
D.

The furled sail and boat in harbor symbolize a life that never ventured out—lost promise from avoiding risks. Lines like “love was offered me and I shrank,” “I dreaded the chances,” and “It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid” make this connection explicit.