The workers at the mill ARE planning to strike.
the answer is C- "seeing ourselves as others see us would free us from blundering"
Since the speaker compares himself to a night owl and Wilson to an early bird without the usage of the words "like" or "as", this is an example of metaphor. The reader is obviously not actually a night owl, but is merely saying that he's more active at night.
Equality would be the main idea. All of us are equal and deserve to be protected and judged equally