Question
Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.
The only white people who came to our house were welfare workers and bill collectors. It was almost always my mother who dealt with them, for my father’s temper, which was at the mercy of his pride, was never to be trusted. It was clear that he felt their very presence in his home to be a violation: this was conveyed by his carriage, almost ludicrously stiff, and by his voice, harsh and vindictively polite.
Which figurative language device does Baldwin use to emphasize his father’s frequent lack of control over his intense anger?
He uses the personification “at the mercy of his pride.”
He uses the alliteration “conveyed by his carriage.”
He uses the metaphor “presence in his home to be a violation.”
He uses the paradox “vindictively polite.”
Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.
That bleakly memorable morning I hated the unbelievable streets and the Negroes and whites who had, equally, made them that way. But I knew that it was folly, as my father would have said, this bitterness was folly.
Which word creates the transition between the stated problem and its emerging solution?
who
but
as
this
Read the sentence from Notes of a Native Son.
Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated and this was an immutable law.
Which best explains why Baldwin uses the word “immutable”?
to de-emphasize the serious nature of the law he describes
to emphasize the inescapable nature of the law he describes
to contrast the law he describes with other laws of human nature
to compare the law he describes with laws based on morality
Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.
A few hours after my father’s funeral, while he lay in state in the undertaker’s chapel, a race riot broke out in Harlem. On the morning of the 3rd of August, we drove my father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass.
Baldwin describes a personal event taking place amid a riot to
symbolize his detachment from the racial prejudice existing in society.
emphasize his amazement with the events taking place around him.
symbolize the destructive impact racial prejudice has on individual lives.
emphasize the contrast between his father’s experiences and his own.
Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.
He was not a young man when we were growing up and he had already suffered many kinds of ruin; in his outrageously demanding and protective way he loved his children, who were black like him and menaced, like him; and all these things sometimes showed in his face when he tried, never to my knowledge with any success, to establish contact with any of us.
Which best explains why Baldwin chooses the word “menaced”?
to illustrate the trickery the children perpetrate
to emphasize the cruelty the children endure
to suggest that the discrimination is imagined
to prove that the children are frequently bothered
The only white people who came to our house were welfare workers and bill collectors. It was almost always my mother who dealt with them, for my father’s temper, which was at the mercy of his pride, was never to be trusted. It was clear that he felt their very presence in his home to be a violation: this was conveyed by his carriage, almost ludicrously stiff, and by his voice, harsh and vindictively polite.
Which figurative language device does Baldwin use to emphasize his father’s frequent lack of control over his intense anger?
He uses the personification “at the mercy of his pride.”
He uses the alliteration “conveyed by his carriage.”
He uses the metaphor “presence in his home to be a violation.”
He uses the paradox “vindictively polite.”
Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.
That bleakly memorable morning I hated the unbelievable streets and the Negroes and whites who had, equally, made them that way. But I knew that it was folly, as my father would have said, this bitterness was folly.
Which word creates the transition between the stated problem and its emerging solution?
who
but
as
this
Read the sentence from Notes of a Native Son.
Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated and this was an immutable law.
Which best explains why Baldwin uses the word “immutable”?
to de-emphasize the serious nature of the law he describes
to emphasize the inescapable nature of the law he describes
to contrast the law he describes with other laws of human nature
to compare the law he describes with laws based on morality
Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.
A few hours after my father’s funeral, while he lay in state in the undertaker’s chapel, a race riot broke out in Harlem. On the morning of the 3rd of August, we drove my father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass.
Baldwin describes a personal event taking place amid a riot to
symbolize his detachment from the racial prejudice existing in society.
emphasize his amazement with the events taking place around him.
symbolize the destructive impact racial prejudice has on individual lives.
emphasize the contrast between his father’s experiences and his own.
Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.
He was not a young man when we were growing up and he had already suffered many kinds of ruin; in his outrageously demanding and protective way he loved his children, who were black like him and menaced, like him; and all these things sometimes showed in his face when he tried, never to my knowledge with any success, to establish contact with any of us.
Which best explains why Baldwin chooses the word “menaced”?
to illustrate the trickery the children perpetrate
to emphasize the cruelty the children endure
to suggest that the discrimination is imagined
to prove that the children are frequently bothered
Answers
GPT-4o mini
1. **Which figurative language device does Baldwin use to emphasize his father’s frequent lack of control over his intense anger?**
- **He uses the personification “at the mercy of his pride.”**
This phrase conveys that his father's anger is influenced and controlled by his pride, highlighting the lack of control he has over his emotions.
2. **Which word creates the transition between the stated problem and its emerging solution?**
- **but**
The word "but" serves as a conjunction that introduces a contrast between the speaker's initial feelings and the acknowledgment of those feelings as folly.
3. **Which best explains why Baldwin uses the word “immutable”?**
- **to emphasize the inescapable nature of the law he describes**
The word "immutable" suggests that the law is unchangeable and unavoidable, underlining the inevitability of the consequences of hatred.
4. **Baldwin describes a personal event taking place amid a riot to**
- **symbolize the destructive impact racial prejudice has on individual lives.**
The contrast of a personal tragedy (his father's funeral) occurring during a riot illustrates how societal issues of prejudice affect individual and familial experiences.
5. **Which best explains why Baldwin chooses the word “menaced”?**
- **to emphasize the cruelty the children endure**
The word "menaced" conveys a sense of imminent danger and threat, highlighting the serious and harsh realities that the children face due to their race.
- **He uses the personification “at the mercy of his pride.”**
This phrase conveys that his father's anger is influenced and controlled by his pride, highlighting the lack of control he has over his emotions.
2. **Which word creates the transition between the stated problem and its emerging solution?**
- **but**
The word "but" serves as a conjunction that introduces a contrast between the speaker's initial feelings and the acknowledgment of those feelings as folly.
3. **Which best explains why Baldwin uses the word “immutable”?**
- **to emphasize the inescapable nature of the law he describes**
The word "immutable" suggests that the law is unchangeable and unavoidable, underlining the inevitability of the consequences of hatred.
4. **Baldwin describes a personal event taking place amid a riot to**
- **symbolize the destructive impact racial prejudice has on individual lives.**
The contrast of a personal tragedy (his father's funeral) occurring during a riot illustrates how societal issues of prejudice affect individual and familial experiences.
5. **Which best explains why Baldwin chooses the word “menaced”?**
- **to emphasize the cruelty the children endure**
The word "menaced" conveys a sense of imminent danger and threat, highlighting the serious and harsh realities that the children face due to their race.
Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son.
The only white people who came to our house were welfare workers and bill collectors. It was almost always my mother who dealt with them, for my father’s temper, which was at the mercy of his pride, was never to be trusted. It was clear that he felt their very presence in his home to be a violation: this was conveyed by his carriage, almost ludicrously stiff, and by his voice, harsh and vindictively polite.
Which figurative language device does Baldwin use to emphasize the rage buried beneath his father’s outward appearance and actions?
He uses the personification “at the mercy of his pride.”
He uses the alliteration “conveyed by his carriage.”
He uses the metaphor “presence in his home to be a violation.”
He uses the paradox “vindictively polite.”
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 explains this excerpt’s role in the problem-and-solution structure of the passage?
The excerpt presents the solution to the overarching problem in the passage.
The excerpt sets up a secondary problem addressed by the passage.
The excerpt presents the solution to a secondary problem in the passage.
The excerpt sets up the overarching problem addressed by the passage.
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 expresses the connection that Baldwin makes between the historical context of racial prejudice and the physical effects it has on his father?
His father’s premature death reflects the rapid disappearance of racial prejudice in early 20th-century America.
His father’s immunity to stress reflects the immunity of Black Americans to the effects of racial prejudice.
The tension in his father’s body reflects the tension between oppressor and oppressed in early 20th-century America.
The weakness in his father’s body reflects the weakness of the riot against discrimination in Harlem.
Which key words in Notes of a Native Son does Baldwin use to convey the oppressive condition of his father’s life due to racial prejudice?
bitter, pride, rage, cruel
buried, weight, tension, bleak
riots, apocalypse, anarchy, slavery
energy, heart, education, landscape
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.
Which best explains Baldwin’s choice to use the word “unquiet” instead of “loud” to describe the streets of Harlem after the race riot?
Baldwin is referring to all of the sounds in the area as opposed to just the sounds that are loud.
Baldwin is referring to the thoughts in his head that occur as he drives through the area as opposed to actual sounds.
Baldwin is describing the feeling of restlessness and tension in the area as opposed to actual sounds.
Baldwin is describing the sound of the car as it drives through the area and disrupts the eerie silence.
The only white people who came to our house were welfare workers and bill collectors. It was almost always my mother who dealt with them, for my father’s temper, which was at the mercy of his pride, was never to be trusted. It was clear that he felt their very presence in his home to be a violation: this was conveyed by his carriage, almost ludicrously stiff, and by his voice, harsh and vindictively polite.
Which figurative language device does Baldwin use to emphasize the rage buried beneath his father’s outward appearance and actions?
He uses the personification “at the mercy of his pride.”
He uses the alliteration “conveyed by his carriage.”
He uses the metaphor “presence in his home to be a violation.”
He uses the paradox “vindictively polite.”
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 explains this excerpt’s role in the problem-and-solution structure of the passage?
The excerpt presents the solution to the overarching problem in the passage.
The excerpt sets up a secondary problem addressed by the passage.
The excerpt presents the solution to a secondary problem in the passage.
The excerpt sets up the overarching problem addressed by the passage.
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 expresses the connection that Baldwin makes between the historical context of racial prejudice and the physical effects it has on his father?
His father’s premature death reflects the rapid disappearance of racial prejudice in early 20th-century America.
His father’s immunity to stress reflects the immunity of Black Americans to the effects of racial prejudice.
The tension in his father’s body reflects the tension between oppressor and oppressed in early 20th-century America.
The weakness in his father’s body reflects the weakness of the riot against discrimination in Harlem.
Which key words in Notes of a Native Son does Baldwin use to convey the oppressive condition of his father’s life due to racial prejudice?
bitter, pride, rage, cruel
buried, weight, tension, bleak
riots, apocalypse, anarchy, slavery
energy, heart, education, landscape
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.
Which best explains Baldwin’s choice to use the word “unquiet” instead of “loud” to describe the streets of Harlem after the race riot?
Baldwin is referring to all of the sounds in the area as opposed to just the sounds that are loud.
Baldwin is referring to the thoughts in his head that occur as he drives through the area as opposed to actual sounds.
Baldwin is describing the feeling of restlessness and tension in the area as opposed to actual sounds.
Baldwin is describing the sound of the car as it drives through the area and disrupts the eerie silence.
GPT-4o mini
1. **Which figurative language device does Baldwin use to emphasize the rage buried beneath his father’s outward appearance and actions?**
- **He uses the paradox “vindictively polite.”**
This phrase highlights the contradiction between politeness and hidden rage, suggesting that his father’s outward manners mask deeper, intense emotions.
2. **Which best explains this excerpt’s role in the problem-and-solution structure of the passage?**
- **The excerpt sets up the overarching problem addressed by the passage.**
This segment reveals the weight of racial prejudice and its impact not only on Baldwin’s father but also on Baldwin himself, establishing the core problem of the narrative.
3. **Which best expresses the connection that Baldwin makes between the historical context of racial prejudice and the physical effects it has on his father?**
- **The tension in his father’s body reflects the tension between oppressor and oppressed in early 20th-century America.**
The physical manifestations of tension in Baldwin’s father symbolize the overarching societal conflict and pressures faced by Black Americans during that time.
4. **Which key words in Notes of a Native Son does Baldwin use to convey the oppressive condition of his father’s life due to racial prejudice?**
- **buried, weight, tension, bleak**
These words encapsulate the heaviness and emotional struggle experienced due to the pervasive nature of racial prejudice.
5. **Which best explains Baldwin’s choice to use the word “unquiet” instead of “loud” to describe the streets of Harlem after the race riot?**
- **Baldwin is describing the feeling of restlessness and tension in the area as opposed to actual sounds.**
The term "unquiet" conveys a sense of unease and disturbance, suggesting psychological turmoil and instability rather than just noise.
- **He uses the paradox “vindictively polite.”**
This phrase highlights the contradiction between politeness and hidden rage, suggesting that his father’s outward manners mask deeper, intense emotions.
2. **Which best explains this excerpt’s role in the problem-and-solution structure of the passage?**
- **The excerpt sets up the overarching problem addressed by the passage.**
This segment reveals the weight of racial prejudice and its impact not only on Baldwin’s father but also on Baldwin himself, establishing the core problem of the narrative.
3. **Which best expresses the connection that Baldwin makes between the historical context of racial prejudice and the physical effects it has on his father?**
- **The tension in his father’s body reflects the tension between oppressor and oppressed in early 20th-century America.**
The physical manifestations of tension in Baldwin’s father symbolize the overarching societal conflict and pressures faced by Black Americans during that time.
4. **Which key words in Notes of a Native Son does Baldwin use to convey the oppressive condition of his father’s life due to racial prejudice?**
- **buried, weight, tension, bleak**
These words encapsulate the heaviness and emotional struggle experienced due to the pervasive nature of racial prejudice.
5. **Which best explains Baldwin’s choice to use the word “unquiet” instead of “loud” to describe the streets of Harlem after the race riot?**
- **Baldwin is describing the feeling of restlessness and tension in the area as opposed to actual sounds.**
The term "unquiet" conveys a sense of unease and disturbance, suggesting psychological turmoil and instability rather than just noise.