Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.In that year I had had time to become aware of the meaning of all my father’s bitter warnings, had discovered the secret of his proudly pursed lips and rigid carriage: I had discovered the weight of white people in the world. I saw that this had been for my ancestors and now would be for me an awful thing to live with and that the bitterness which had helped to kill my father could also kill me.Which best describes the realization Baldwin has about racial prejudice in early 20th-century America?
Answer
A
The bitterness that results from racial prejudice is a well-kept family secret.
B
The bitterness that results from racial prejudice does not affect him.
C
The bitterness that results from racial prejudice does not make sense.
D
The bitterness that results from racial prejudice threatens his existence.
Explanation
Baldwin realizes that racial prejudice creates a bitterness his father carried and that he could come to carry too. He says this bitterness “could also kill me,” showing that it threatens his life and well-being. The best choice is “The bitterness that results from racial prejudice threatens his existence.”
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