Perspectives in American Literature

Read this excerpt from Countee Cullen's poem "The Dark Tower," and then complete the sentences that follow.

We shall not always plant while others reap
The golden increment of bursting fruit,   
Not always countenance, abject and mute,   
That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap;
Not everlastingly while others sleep . . .

When Cullen speaks of planting while others reap, and standing "abject and mute," he is speaking about the ____________ injustices present in American society.

• racial

• internal

• casual

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

As these injustices have changed over time, the American ___________ has also shifted. Those changes are, in turn, reflected in American literature.

• focus

• identity

• response

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Which of these lines from Walt Whitman's “I Hear America Singing” describes a unified America?

1. 1. I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
   Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
   2. The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
   3. The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
   4. The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck, . . .

• 1

• 2

• 3

• 4

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

In Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," what binds the workers together?

• They share the same vision.

• They eat in the kitchen.

• They sit at the table to eat.

• They advocate for peace.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Which of these words most clearly means “point of view”?

• prospective

• perspective

• retrospective

• reflective

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.4

CCSS.L.9-10.4A

CCSS.L.9-10.5B

What paradox of social injustice is presented in these lines from Countee Cullen's “From the Dark Tower”?

We shall not always plant while others reap
The golden increment of bursting fruit,
Not always countenance, abject and mute
That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap;

• The hearing and speaking impaired are routinely victimized by others in American society.

• Those who today enjoy power and prosperity may one day become subordinate to those they deem inferior. 

• The natural system of justice is unbiased, and all people are given equal opportunity to grow and flourish.

• Those who enforce racial segregation are typically isolated groups in society.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

How are American literature and the American identity interrelated?

• American literature often portrays aspects of the American identity.

• The American identity is usually determined by American literature.

• American literature is part of the system by which the federal government creates an American identity.

• American literature is the inspiration through which people build an American identity.

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.W.9-10.1

What would the tone of Walt Whitman's poem "I Hear America Singing" be if the people in the poem were speaking rather than singing?

• jovial

• less hopeful

• more hopeful

• unchanged

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Which statement best describes the symbolic and figurative meaning in the first line of this excerpt from Countee Cullen's “From the Dark Tower”?

We shall not always plant while others reap
The golden increment of bursting fruit,
Not always countenance, abject and mute
That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap;

• The speaker feels that he will someday trade places and reap while others plant.

• The speaker believes that he will one day share equally in the fruits of human labor.

• The speaker envisions a time when everyone will receive equal amounts of work and leisure.

• The speaker longs for a future without immense poverty and hardships.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

In "I, Too," why does the speaker say "they" will be ashamed?

• because they are not as beautiful as the speaker 

• 
  because they realize that the person they dismissed is actually beautiful

• because they wish they were as intelligent as the speaker

• because they have their meals in the kitchen

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.1

CCSS.RL.9-10.2