The sun is a brash tambourine in the Eastern sky. A rare winter morning when the view south across the bay is not sullied by sleeves of fog. Sea and snow-capped Olympics are both clear, and visible in the same line of vision, one of the reasons she loves this place. She stands on the chilly winter sand in bare feet, binoculars in hand, listening to the polished pebbles at the end of the beach chortling with each outgoing wave. Three seals pop up in quick succession maybe twenty yards out, staring at her as if to say good morning, then they submerge again, reappearing a minute later much closer. An eagle rides a thermal, rising to a pinpoint against the blue as if to display his strength and grandeur, then descending abruptly to the ocean’s surface to grasp something in its talons. Instead of rising in flight again the eagle begins to swim, hunching its broad wings at regular intervals like someone swimming the breaststroke. She feels her own scapula rising and falling in sympathy. What work it must be, especially in water this cold. . . .
"Sinking Islands", © Cai Emmons. Published by Red Hen Press, 2021.
Question
Use the passage from “Sinking Islands” to answer the question.
What does the simile "like someone swimming the breaststroke" suggest about the eagle?
(1 point)
Responses
He relies primarily on fish as a source of food.
He relies primarily on fish as a source of food.
She reflects Bronwyn's own love of the water.
She reflects Bronwyn's own love of the water.
She possesses a humanlike sense of determination.
She possesses a humanlike sense of determination.
She embodies Bronwyn's desire for freedom.