Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son . He had lived and died in an intolerable bitterness of spirit and it frightened me, as we drove him to the graveyard through those unquiet, ruined streets, to see how powerful and overflowing this bitterness could be and to realize that this bitterness now was mine. Based on Baldwin’s reflection about his father’s life, which best states the effects of racial prejudice?
Answer
A
The effects of racial prejudice evaporate from societies with the passage of time.
B
The effects of racial prejudice are passed down from generation to generation.
C
The effects of racial prejudice impact individuals as opposed to entire societies.
D
The effects of racial prejudice affect only those who experience them directly.
Explanation
Baldwin describes his father’s bitterness and realizes that the same bitterness has become his: “this bitterness now was mine.” This suggests that racial prejudice affects not only the person who experiences it but can also be passed down to later generations. Therefore, the best choice is that its effects are passed down from generation to generation.
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