Question

Sojourner Truth by Joanna Evans
The fight for suffrage drives a wedge between a spirited young woman and her mother. . . .

Characters

NARRATOR

REBECCA, 17 years old

MAMA, her mother

BEFORE RISE: NARRATOR enters, addresses audience.
Use the story to answer the question.

In 3–5 sentences, describe what the audience knows that the characters do not. Then, explain how this knowledge most likely affects the audience’s perception of the characters and their actions.

Answer 1

The audience, guided by the narrator and the play’s historical context, knows that Sojourner Truth and the suffrage movement are part of a larger, consequential struggle for rights and that Rebecca’s choices connect to long-term social change—information the mother and daughter treat mainly as a private quarrel. Rebecca and Mama are focused on immediate fears, reputation, and family division and do not fully perceive the movement’s wider moral urgency or its likely historical impact. That broader knowledge makes the audience admire Rebecca’s courage and conviction as principled and forward-looking, while also feeling sympathy for Mama’s protective, fearful stance rather than simply condemning her opposition.