Winter brings blizzards, hot tornadic winds arise in the spring, and in summer the prairie is an anvil's edge. the grass turns brittle and brown, and it cracks beneath your feet. there are green belts along the rivers and creeks, linear groves of hickory and pecan, willow and witch hazel. at a distance in july and august the steaming foliage seems almost to writhe in fire. great green and yellow grasshoppers are everywhere in the tall grass, popping up like corn to sting the flesh . .which phrase in the passage most strongly contributes to its overall tone?

a. popping up like corn
b. foliage seems to writhe in fire
c. linear groves of hickory
d. willow and witch hazel