Read these lines from walt whitman's "song of myself" the last scud of day holds back for me, it flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow'd wilds. it coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk. i depart as air, i shake my white locks at the runaway sun, i effuse my flesh in eddies, and i drift in lacy jags. what is the purpose of the simile in this poem? a to make an animal seem like a peer to the speaker b to compare the speaker to a force of nature c to link two unlike concepts: mountains and burial mounds d to make a connection between the speaker ad the reader

B). To compare the speaker to a force of nature.

Explanation:

Simile is described as the literary device or figure of speech that is employed to compare two things with an aim to reflect similarity between them with the use of 'like' and 'as'.

Whitman's "Song of Myself" is illustrated as one of his most acknowledged works. The poem is chiefly inclined towards celebration of individualism(as the title suggests) and its capability to unite mystically and spiritually with the nature and individual self. Whitman employs different literary devices to create the intended effect efficiently and serve his purpose.

In the given excerpt, the purpose of the simile('I depart as air') is to 'establish the comparison between the speaker and force of nature' that highlights the 'transience' or 'brevity' of human life and ultimate union with the nature. Thus, option B is the correct answer.