Not My Bones/ Fortune's Bones

Which fact supports the idea that Fortune generally was in good health?

• His skeleton was sturdy and complete

• He worked on a farm growing vegetables

• He was the father of four children

• His remains have lasted for more than 200 years.

Which of the following could you infer has happened to the speaker in the last stanza of the poem?

• He has escaped to the North to become a free man/woman.

• His master granted him his freedom one morning.

• He is rejoicing because of his physical death.

• He got a good night's sleep and felt refreshed when he woke up.

The speaker in "Not My Bones" would be UNAFRAID of the idea of death.  This is EVIDENCED by how he/she

• Has already experienced a wonderful life

• States that people are much more than their bodies

• Wants to live in the sky among the stars

• Has other things to marvel at/look forward to in life

What is the connection of the last line/paragraph of the article in relationship to the central idea of the poem?

• Once Fortune's identity was confirmed, the author felt she was free to write her poem because his bones were no longer on display and his body was "free."

• The author wanted to stress in poetic format and through a non-fiction work that in relationship to Fortune's life, the bones were his least significant part..

• The author wanted to impress the idea upon the reader that once someone is a slave, they can never truly be free.

• The author's central idea of both the poem and the passage was that Fortune was a hero among slaves when he was living because he exhibited great courage and integrity as he suffered continuous abuse from his master.

What does the speaker mean in the simile she uses in lines 15-19?  Which statement BEST represents the idea in the SIMILE itself?

• That a person is not just his/her body

• No body should own somebody else

• That thinking a person is just what you see (just the body) is like a horseless bridle trying to go on its own.....it would be empty!

• Comparing life to love of living

How was the decision made by Dr. Porter to preserve Fortune's bones significant for the Porter family?

• The skeleton became a famous exhibit at a museum

• The Porters' last link to Fortune and his family was Fortune's skeleton

• Historians and scientists analyzed the bones to discover important information

• Four more generations of Porters became physicians

Why does Nelson most likely use the word "itty-bitty' to describe the people's voices in line 38 of "Not My Bones"?

• When you praise something, you should do so quietly.

• A voice will eventually disappear, so it's very tiny

• The world is filled with an enormous amount of voices, so one is very small in the midst!

• The stars are way too far away to hear the voices, so it makes one voice seem very small!

For what reason do you believe that Marilyn Nelson  was inspired to write the poem, "Not my Bones?"

• To inspire others to write poems about the cruelties that slaves had to endure

• To illustrate the central idea that while Fortune's physical body (his bones)may still endure, it is not nearly as significant as his soul that can never be contained or put on display. His soul will endure freely and forever.

• To demonstrate her prowess in connecting a non-fiction article to a poem about death

• To entertain the reader with a poem with the central of idea of freedom and equality for all individuals who just choose to "live" in the present.

Lines 3-6 of the poem mean that a human being is made of  molecules that come together only for as long as the person lives; then they move on. Which of the following lines from the poem would least support this idea?

• We are brief incarnations, /We are clouds in clothes,

• I bore light passed on by original flames;/while it was in my hands it was called by name.

• You can murder hope, you can pound faith flat,/ but like wildflowers, they grow right back

• This skeleton was just/ my temporary home.

The non-fiction article supports the opinion that Fortune was not free for many years after his death. How does the poem contradict this viewpoint?

• The view point in the poem is that a slave's bones cannot be abused to the extent that the actual living person could be abused, so Fortune was better off when he was nothing but bones.

• In the article,the Porter family and the museum retained "ownership" of him, but in the poem when he died, his soul was set free.

• Figurative language throughout the poem focuses on the idea that whether living on earth or living in the afterworld, a person's true essence (the soul) can never be held captive or possessed.

• In the article, Fortune was finally set free when his true identify was revealed once again; in the poem he will always be held captive.