Pennsylvania Keystone Literature Practice Questions - Pennsylvania Keystone Exam - Literature Exam

Read the following passage excerpt, then answer the question. --- PASSAGE 2 — Classic Fiction Excerpt The wind howled across the salt marshes, rattling the single-pane glass of Eleanor's cottage. She sat by the hearth, her hand resting on the bundle of unopened letters tied with faded blue ribbon. Outside, the tide was coming in fast, devouring the mudflats yard by yard. Ten years ago, her brother had sailed out of the estuary on a merchant schooner during a storm just like this one. Every winter gale brought the sound of splintering timber to her mind. She pulled her wool shawl tighter around her shoulders, listening to the pounding surf, unsure whether she wished the mail coach would arrive tomorrow or stay stranded in the snow drift at Blackwood Ridge. --- How does the setting of the coastal cottage during a storm primarily influence Eleanor's internal conflict?