3.

PART A: Which of the following statements best describes how fear impacted the Essex sailors' decision to sail south, according to the text?

A

The fear of death led the sailors to choose the option that they believed would offer the highest chance of survival.

B

The sailors' fear of cannibalism overshadowed their sound judgment, so they refused to sail to nearby islands.

C

The sailors decided to sail south because that was the only option that did not arouse any fear.

D

The sailors invented stories instead of analyzing their situation, and they chose to sail south because that was the best story.

The answer is B. The sailors fear of cannibalism overshadowed their sound judgment, so they refused to sail to nearby islands.

This question is regarding "What Fear Can Teach Us" by Karen Thompson Walker. In the remote Pacific Ocean, a ship filled with seawater after being struck by a sperm whale. The 20 sailors gathered together in three small whale boats and decided what to do. They were very far from any type of land, but the closest were islands where the sailors heard there were cannibals. This terrified them, so instead they decided to make the difficult and long journey south in hopes of catching winds to the coast of South America. They were ultimately saved by passing ships, but before that happened half of the men had died and some had resorted to their own type of cannibalism due to lack of food.