Graphical and Structural Elements in Poetry — Cumulative exam
Question 39 • TX-English IV B
Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.It had something to do with his blackness, I think—he was very black—with his blackness and his beauty, and with the fact that he knew that he was black but did not know that he was beautiful. He claimed to be proud of his blackness but it had also been the cause of much humiliation and it had fixed bleak boundaries to his life.Which best describes the effect that racial prejudice had on Baldwin’s father in early 20th-century America?
Answer
A
Baldwin’s father viewed himself in terms of limitations as opposed to possibilities.
B
Baldwin’s father viewed himself in terms of possibilities as opposed to limitations.
C
Baldwin’s father viewed himself in terms of pride as opposed to humiliation.
D
Baldwin’s father viewed himself in terms of humiliation as opposed to pride.
Explanation
The excerpt says Baldwin’s father’s Blackness had caused “much humiliation” and “fixed bleak boundaries to his life.” This shows that racial prejudice made him see his identity as imposing limits, rather than opening up possibilities. Choice A, “viewed himself in terms of limitations as opposed to possibilities,” best describes that effect.
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