Lives of Commitment: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Question 7 • PA-Common Core ELA 8 Q1
Read this excerpt from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.My home was charmless; it was not home to me; on parting from it, I could not feel that I was leaving any thing which I could have enjoyed by staying. My mother was dead, my grandmother lived far off, so that I seldom saw her. I had two sisters and one brother, that lived in the same house with me; but the early separation of us from our mother had well nigh blotted the fact of our relationship from our memories. I looked for home elsewhere, and was confident of finding none which I should relish less than the one which I was leaving. If, however, I found in my new home hardship, hunger, whipping, and nakedness, I had the consolation that I should not have escaped any one of them by staying.
Answer
A
Friendships with brothers and sisters are the only cheerful part of life on this harsh plantation.
B
Children are separated from parental figures, and sibling relationships are not encouraged.
C
When young children seek the comforts of home, they often travel with their siblings.
D
Enslaved children visit their parents and grandparents on neighboring plantations when they travel.
Explanation
Douglass says he was separated from his mother early, his grandmother lived far away, and that separation nearly erased his sense of connection to his siblings. This shows how enslaved children were separated from parental figures and how family bonds, including sibling relationships, were weakened. Choice B best expresses this idea.
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