Read the following excerpt from Journal of the Adventures of a Party of California Gold-seekers by Margaret Frink:

Here we again heard alarming and discouraging accounts of deeds of violence and bloodshed that had recently been committed on the plains, along the route that we were very soon to travel over.
Which word best describes the mood Frink creates with this passage?

A.
Pessimistic

B.
Angry

C.
Formal

D.
Worried