AnswersEnglish 11 AWriting Workshop: Narrative Writing

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Read the excerpt from "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”When the dogs in your streets, when the fowls of the air, when the cattle on your hills, when the fish of the sea, and the reptiles that crawl, shall be unable to distinguish the slave from a brute, then will I argue with you that the slave is a man!What effect does the repetition of the word “when” have?

A
The repetition gives the excerpt a philosophical quality.
B
The repetition distracts readers from Douglass’s original point.
C
The repetition clarifies the time in which the speech was delivered.
D
The repetition reinforces Douglass’s incredulity at the opposition’s attitudes.
2
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Which line from "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” supports Douglass’s claim that the Fourth of July is not a cause worthy of celebration by all?

A
Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too great enough to give frame to a great age.
B
Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful.
C
Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them.
D
But, I submit, where all is plain there is nothing to be argued. What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? On what branch of the subject do the people of this country need light?
3

Which excerpt is a counterclaim in "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

A
What is this but the acknowledgment that the slave is a moral, intellectual, and responsible being? The manhood of the slave is conceded.
B
There are seventy-two crimes in the State of Virginia which, if committed by a black man (no matter how ignorant he be), subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment.
C
It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding, under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read or to write.
D
What, then, remains to be argued? Is it that slavery is not divine; that God did not establish it; that our doctors of divinity are mistaken?
4

In "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, Douglass refers to the Declaration of Independence. Which of the following best describes the historical significance of this reference?

A
It is significant because a prominent leader was suggesting that the unequal treatment of Black people was supported by the principles of the Declaration of Independence.
B
It is significant because a prominent leader was suggesting that the unequal treatment of Black people was in direct opposition to the principles of the Declaration of Independence.
C
It is significant because a prominent leader was suggesting that, although the Declaration of Independence was written by worthy and admirable people, its principles were greatly misguided.
D
It is significant because a prominent leader was suggesting that, although the Declaration of Independence was a worthy document, it desperately needed some improvements and additions.
5

Read the excerpt from "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? Is that a question for Republicans? Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to be understood?What do the rhetorical questions in the excerpt suggest?

A
Douglass does not want to discuss slavery further.
B
Slavery is a highly divisive and complicated issue.
C
Douglass is uncertain about slavery’s wrongfulness.
D
The wrongfulness of slavery should be obvious.
6

Read the excerpt from "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”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.
7

Read the excerpt from "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? And am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful. For who is there so cold, that a nation’s sympathy could not warm him? Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation’s jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? I am not that man. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the “lame man leap as an hart.”Which statement best describes why this excerpt contains an example of deductive reasoning?

A
It contains specific details that support a variety of different ideas.
B
It begins with broad statements and ends with more specific ones.
C
It uses clear examples that are easily understood by all readers.
D
It starts with a very simple idea and builds to a much grander idea.
8

Which group in nineteenth-century America would likely be the most receptive audience for "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

A
clergy
B
dock workers
C
enslavers
D
abolitionists
9

Which statement best explains why "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" is an example of inductive reasoning, as a whole?

A
It contains one primary claim in its first paragraph and then supports that claim throughout the rest of the speech.
B
It offers a claim and then rebuts all arguments against that claim throughout the rest of the speech about the holiday.
C
It uses a specific holiday as a basis for the broader conclusion that is constructed throughout the rest of the speech.
D
It begins with a grandiose statement and then explains that statement in parts throughout the rest of the speech.
10

What was most likely the author’s immediate purpose in writing "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

A
to persuade readers about the unjust treatment of Black people
B
to inform readers about the daily lives of Black people
C
to describe his own experiences encountering various social issues
D
to discuss some social issues he considered to be of great importance

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