Harriet Tubman Selection Form B

What does Moses symbolize in paragraphs 1–3?

• Contentment

• Fantasy

• Freedom

• Religion

Which idea does the author’s tone in paragraph 12 help to convey about slave owners in the South?

• They were not willing to negotiate with Tubman.

• They did not manage their plantations effectively.

• They knew slavery was wrong but were driven by greed.

• They considered slaves valuable property that they wanted returned.

In which two sentences does the author’s word choice create a hopeful mood?

• For a while, as they walked, they seemed to carry in them a measure of contentment; some of the serenity and the cleanliness of that big warm kitchen lingered on inside them. (paragraph 32)

• Ellen pretended to be very ill—her right arm was in a sling, and her right hand was bandaged, because she was supposed to have rheumatism. (paragraph 34)

• She told them about Frederick Douglass, the most famous of the escaped slaves, of his eloquence, of his magnificent appearance. (paragraph 36)

• These people who had risked their own security to help runaways would be ruined, fined, imprisoned. (paragraph 41)

• This time she told them about the long agony of the Middle Passage on the old slave ships, about the black horror of the holds, about the chains and the whips. (paragraph 43)

How is the escape of the eleven slaves in December 1851 different from the trips that Tubman made before?

• They travel to Canada.

• They plan for many days.

• They leave on a Saturday night.

• They go through Maryland.

How are Harriet Tubman’s character and personality revealed in this selection?

This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A: How does Tubman’s attitude toward the state of Maryland change over the course of the selection?

• A) At first she thinks of Maryland as her home, but later she feels like a stranger there.

• B) At first she is eager to get away from Maryland, but later she remembers it fondly.

• C) At first she thinks of Maryland fondly, but later she realizes its disadvantages.

• D) At first she thinks she will one day return to Maryland, but later she reconsiders.

Which two excerpts from the selection best support the answer to Part A?

• Along the Eastern Shore of Maryland, in Dorchester County, in Caroline County, the masters kept hearing whispers about the man named Moses, who was running off slaves. (paragraph 1)

• She knew moments of doubt when she was half-afraid, and kept looking back over her shoulder, imagining that she heard the sound of pursuit. They would certainly be pursued. . . . Eleven thousand dollars’ worth of flesh and bone and muscle that belonged to Maryland planters. (paragraph 12)

• Late in December, 1851, Harriet arrived in St. Catharines, Canada West (now Ontario), with the eleven fugitives. It had taken almost a month to complete this journey; most of the time had been spent getting out of Maryland. (paragraph 53)

• Often she found herself thinking of the beauty of Maryland, the mellowness of the soil, the richness of the plant life there. (paragraph 55)

• When spring came she decided that she would make this small Canadian city her home—as much as any place could be said to be home to a woman who traveled from Canada to the Eastern Shore of Maryland as often as she did. (paragraph 57)