Question

If by your art, my dearest father, you havePut the wild waters in this roar, allay them.The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch,But that the sea, mounting to the welkin's cheek,Dashes the fire out. O, I have suffered With those that I saw suffer: a brave vessel, Who had, no doubt, some noble creature in her,Dash'd all to pieces. O, the cry did knock Against my very heart. Poor souls, they perish'd.Had I been any god of power, I would Have sunk the sea within the earth or ereIt should the good ship so have swallow'd andThe fraughting souls within her.PROSPERO

Be collected:No more amazement: tell your piteous hearThere's no harm done. (Act I, scene ii, lines 1 - 15)
What does Miranda's questioning of Prospero's decision to cause the
shipwreck most clearly indicate about her character?
A. That she doesn't understand what her father is doing
B. That she believes her father will always do what is best
C. That she is not fully under her father‘s control
D. That she is worried the people on the ship will come ashore

Answer 1

Miranda's reaction to Prospero causing the shipwreck demonstrates that she is compassionate and possesses her own independent moral judgment, suggesting she is not fully under Prospero's control.

Step-by-step explanation:

Miranda's questioning of Prospero's decision to cause the shipwreck in the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare most clearly indicates that she is empathetic and compassionate. The lines you've provided show Miranda's deep concern for the souls aboard the ship and her wish that if she had the power, she would prevent the ship's destruction and save the people.

This particular aspect of Miranda's character is evident by her distress over the suffering of the ship's passengers and her feeling that the cruelty of the shipwreck is unnecessary and unjust. Her questioning of Prospero, therefore, aligns best with the option that suggests Miranda is not fully under her father's control.

She has her own moral compass and sense of right and wrong, which guides her reactions independently of Prospero's actions and intentions.