I would say the correct answer is <span>c. greatly distressed. These lines describe desperate attempts to live a normal life, to reinvent its meaning, to try to enjoy it once again and recreate some sense within the terrible predicament. This is not optimism - it's a desperate (and vain) attempt to reach for some optimism. It is not depression either - a depressed person doesn't even try.</span>
Word choice...thesaurus gives alternative but same meaning for a word.
Answer:
I assume you meant to ask, "What is a simile <em>in </em>"The Hands of an Angry God." So, one example is the simile in which the author compares God's wrath to a terrible flood (“The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present...”).