To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling
vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted
impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and
thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception,
impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.
What is the effect of the repetition of "your"?
A. It reminds the reader of the speaker's identity.
B. It reinforces the speaker's feeling of separation.
C. It suggests a dialogue between speaker and audience.
D. It indicates that the speaker is addressing a large crowd.
1 answer
The correct answer is B. It reinforces the speaker's feeling of separation.
The repetition of "your" emphasizes the distance between the speaker, likely a slave or someone sympathetic to their plight, and the audience that celebrates the Fourth of July. It highlights the disconnect between the ideals celebrated by the audience and the reality experienced by the speaker and other enslaved individuals.
