Read the excerpt from "Choice: A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” by Alice Walker. He was The One, The Hero, The One Fearless Person for whom we had waited. I hadn’t even realized before that we had been waiting for Martin Luther King, Jr., but we had. And I knew it for sure when my mother added his name to the list of people she prayed for every night. I sometimes think that it was literally the prayers of people like my mother and father, who had bowed down in the struggle for such a long time, that kept Dr. King alive until five years ago. For years we went to bed praying for his life, and awoke with the question "Is the ‘Lord’ still here?” What is emphasized by the hyperbole in this excerpt?
Answer
A
the abandonment felt by the African American community
B
the fear Walker felt for King’s life and safety
C
the dedication Walker showed in praying for King
D
the hope King inspired in the African American community
Explanation
Calling King “The One” and “The Hero,” and suggesting that people’s prayers kept him alive, uses exaggeration to emphasize how deeply the community depended on and admired him. The repeated prayers and the question about whether the “Lord” was still here show how much hope and reassurance King inspired. The best answer is C, the hope King inspired in the African American community.
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