Making Inferences
Key Details
Key Details
I was not this body, I was not these bones.
Based on lines 1 and 2, the reader can infer the speaker-
A. doesn't know who he is
B. has no identity
C. believes he's more than a physical body
D. is confused about how the body is made of bones
C. believes he's more than a physical body
In stanza 1 the speaker talks in 1st person POV, then in the stanza he speaks in 2nd person POV. What is this change called in poetry?
A. Tone
B. Imagery
C. Symbolism
D. Shift
D. Shift
Which of these ideas is being emphasized by the idiom in line 13?
A. The speaker's strength and confidence comes from his parents and ancestors, those who came before him
B. The light shines bright light a fire
C. The speaker is destined to carry the light far in his life
D. The bones and body can be burned by the flames
A. The speaker's strength and confidence comes from his parents and ancestors, those who came before him
The title of the poem is effective because it suggests that the speaker-
A. has a personal relationship with his bones
B. is the owner of his mind and therefore is a free man
C. can now die in peace and leave his bones behind
D. is a slave that wants to be free by leaving his body and bones
B. is the owner of his mind and therefore is a free man
The poet, Marilyn Nelson and Frederick Douglass both share similar ideas about-
A. bodies being for sale as a slave
B. slaveowners being powerful people in America
C. our mind being something no one can own
D. not claiming your body or bones
C. their mind being something no one can own
The poet uses the last two lines of each stanza to establish that-
A. we are more than what we see each other as being, we are souls that control our own being.
B. humans are not really human beings, they are skeletons
C. the speaker continues to repeat himself to emphasize I am not a person
D. people are made of more bones than the mind can count
A. we are more than what we see each other as being, we are souls that control our own being.
What is one example of shift does the poet provides in the poem?
A. Stanza 3: You can own a man's body.../I will tell you one thing...
B. Line 27: You can murder hope, you can pound faith flat
C. Lines 23-24: You are not your body, you are not your bones
D. Stanza 5: What's essential about you...
A. Stanza 3: You can own a man's body.../I will tell you one thing...
in this stanza the speaks begins speaking to the slaveowner or possibly explaining to other slaves... in 2nd person. Then, he shifts and goes back to speaking in 1st person
Elementary molecules converged for a breath, then danced on beyond my individual death.
The sensory language in the lines above best reveals the poet's-
A. belief that he is a student of life
B. idea that he is a soul, with a heart and spirit that has a mind of his own
C. understanding of how the body is formed
D. dream of proving that his bones can breath and dance
B. idea that he is a soul, with a heart and spirit that has a mind of his own
In lines 3-4 and line 9, the poet uses the words 'temporary home' and 'brief' incarnations. What do these to phrases mean?
A. no longer than a year
B. substantial period
C. a considerably long time
D. short time span
D. short time span
One problem presented in O'Captain! My Captain! poem not presented in the 'Not My Bones' poem-
A. a president was assassinated for using his voice and power to stand against ownership of people
B. people praised America all around the world for owning people of color
C. the soul is halted in O'Captain! My Captain!
D. the mind is controlled by evil people that lack self confidence
A. a president was assassinated for using his voice and power to stand against ownership of people
Based on the poem, what did the poet most likely believe about his experiences in life?
A. that a person's happiness is internal and can never be enslaved
B. people must obey and the rules
C. slaves could be free if they wanted to be free
D. slaveowners did all they could to ensure the essentials in life were considered for all slaves to live a great life
A. that a person's happiness is internal and can never be enslaved
The tone emphasized throughout the poem is that the poet-
A. feels defeated and is extremely angry about his life
B. wants to find his identity so, he continues to repeat himself
C. is confident and certain about who he is as a person
D. desires ask the slaveowner and other slaves about their bones
C. is confident and certain about who he is as a person
It roams the night sky's mute geometry.
The line above from the poem, helps the reader understand that the speaker's mind-
A. dreams and has ideas that are that of his own
B. runs around without any direction
C. helps the slaveowner solve math problems
D. allows him to sleep walk without a sound
A. dreams and has ideas that are that of his own
Which sentence from the poem best conveys the author's main message?
A. Well, I woke up this morning just so glad to be free.
B. I am not my body, glory hallelujah, not my bones
C. You can murder hope, you can pound faith flat, but like weeds and wildflowers they grow right back
D. I bore light passed on from an original flame:
C. You can murder hope, you can pound faith flat, but like weeds and wildflowers they grow right back
What is one way that Anna Cooper's idea of making your voice heard similar to what the speaker in 'Not My Bones' says?
A. They both said our voices don't matter
B. They both encouraged people to use their voice to speak up for equality
C. They both tried to change one person's voice at a time
D. They both said let your souls run freely and you will discover a new body and attain new bones
B. They both encouraged people to use their voice to speak up for equality
When explaining what's essential about a person the speaker mainly focuses on what can't be owned, for example-
A. a person's body
B. using your voice to speak out against slavery
C. a person's body and bones
D. using your body to fight against slaveowners
B. using your voice to speak out against slavery
Life's the best thing that can happen to you.
The author uses the personification above to illustrate-
A. how dedicated we have to be in life to be happy
B. how often life is seen as bad and hard to love
C. how the best life can't happen to you unless you try
D. how important it is to protect your mind to fully enjoy life
D. how important it is to protect your mind to fully enjoy life
Which line from the poem creates an image of how people see us?
A. while it was in my hands it was called by my name.
B. That's like making a bridle to ride on the wind
C. This skelton was just my temporary home.
D. we are clouds in clothes. We are water respirators, we are how earth knows.
D. we are clouds in clothes. We are water respirators, we are how earth knows.
Which lines from the poem best expresses the author's enthusiasm about death?
A. We are brief incarnations, we are clouds in clothes.
B. I will tell you one thing, and I will tell you true: Life's the best thing that can happen to you.
C. For you are not you body, you are not your body.
D. Well, I woke this morning just so glad to be free, glad to be free, glad to be free.
D. Well, I woke this morning just so glad to be free, glad to be free, glad to be free.
Read the sentence below from Anna Cooper's article.
"So she educated her students so well that they could not be denied."
Which sentence from 'Not My Bones' shows a similar outcome for passing on a legacy of advancing a nation through educating our children?
A. I woke up this morning just so glad to be free
B. That's like making a bridle to ride on the wind
C. We are water respirators
D. What's essential in you is your longing to raise your itty-bitty voice in the cosmic praise
D. What's essential in you is your longing to raise your itty-bitty voice in the cosmic praise