Which line expresses the community's fear as the storm threatens?

• A. We are prepared: we build our houses squat.
• B. It is a huge nothing that we fear.
• C. Strafes invisibly; we are bombarded by the empty air.
• D. The fear grows as the wind rises.

Answer: (B)

As the poem moves from sturdy, practical preparation to the approaching storm, the line It is a huge nothing that we fear gets to the heart of what’s being tested: fear as a psychological, intangible force. The phrase treats fear as something enormous yet formless, a paradox that shows why the community feels unsettled even when they’ve built walls and roofs to withstand the weather. The threat is real, but the fear isn’t a concrete danger you can pin down; it’s the unknown, the potential of what the storm might do, growing bigger as the wind rises. This emphasis on fear itself rather than on visible damage captures the poem’s mood and what the storm does to people emotionally. Other lines describe the storm’s physical power—air, wind, and bombardment—but this line isolates the internal response, making fear the dominant feeling as the threat looms.