D because it says that he was mad AS hell. A simile uses like or as.
The author gives human characteristics to non human entities as the Sea, the Ocean, the waters in order to better show the emotional tension of the narrator. There is an opposition between the dreariness of the first part which shows that the author fears death and the second part where he is tempted by the peace that death can offer. This tension shows the somehow, death may be attractive to the author yet it is also frightening. The opposition of two elements that are yet mutually attracted reinforces the dramatic tension.
