WorksheetsNot My Bones
Total questions: 17
Worksheet time: 13mins
How is the SPEAKER of the poem best described?
Skeleton
The soul
Weeds and wind
The stars, sun, and moon
In the poem, the narrator uses repetition in saying, "I was not this body/I was not these bones". How does this phrase CONTRIBUTE to the meaning of this poem?
She is saying that her bones and her body are not really there.
She is making a point that a person is much more than what one can see ~ the soul and heart of a person is of ultimate importance/NOT the body itself!
She is saying that her body might belong to her master, but she shouldn't be made to work like a slave because she isn't one.
She is saying that people are sometimes violently mean and ruthless and that she would never own another individual because it is just wrong!
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 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
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!
Why does the speaker in "Not My bones" use repetition of the phrase "glad to be free" in lines 41-42 of the poem?
Saying it several times emphasizes the speaker's happiness.
Repeating the phrase demonstrates Nelson's confusion.
The speaker cannot believe that the situation is real.
The speaker reiterates it because Nelson thinks it is a lie.
In considering the CENTRAL IDEA and the THEME of the poem, it could be stated to best emphasize.....
the speaker's love for others
differences seen among all races and mankind in general
difficulties in the search for freedom
strength of enslaved people's hope
Which statement best indicates what "Not My Bones" suggests about slavery?
that it is not fun
that a person's essential nature (who they truly are) can never be enslaved
that it's illegal to make someone a slave
that a person who is a slave does not have the strength or courage to fight for him/herself
What was Dr. Porter's medical specialty?
Studying the human body
Preserving bones after death
Finding cures for diseases
Setting broken bones
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.
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.
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 nonfiction article to a poem about death
To entertain the reader with a poem with the central idea of freedom and equality for all individuals who just choose to "live" in the present.
What line did the author repeat in the poem?
I am not my body; you are not your body
You can own a man's body, but you can't own his mind
Life's the best thing that can happen to you
I am not my bones; you are not your bones
What literary device is used in the phrase "You can murder hope, you can pound faith flat?"
Simile
Irony
Hyperbole
Personification
Which answer choice would best paraphrase the line, "You can own someone's body, but the soul runs free?"
You can't control the soul.
The soul is free even if you own someone's body.
You can control someone physically, but mentally, he/she is in control.
You can own someone, yet his soul runs free.
Define converge
Come together or meet at some point
To be against the wind
A spirit in body form
To transport or carry to a place
The last stanza of the poem has a different tone from the rest of the poem. What is the tone of the last stanza? Select all that apply.
Gloomy
Depressed
Glorious
Liberating
