Answer:
Among the options given on the question the correct answer is option C.
The reference to “pennies” reveals the historical context of the story.
Explanation: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a novel by Betty Smith which was published in 1943 during the world war II. The story was based on an impoverished but aspirational girl and her family in the Williamsburg,Brooklyn. However in the excerpt the reference to pennies reveals the historical context of the story. Because the penny remarks the time of the incident based on the story. Referencing to the penny readers can imagine the time and place of the story.
Other options in the question is not regarding the historical context of the story. They are the settings of the writer's view.
So the pennies refer to the historical context.
The prepositional phrase is beneath
It describes how the man hopes to find the young beauty, and embrace. her youth and her love.
