Compare Non-fiction Selection To Poetry "Fortune's Bones" And "Not My Bones"
Carefully read the selections "Not My Bones" (page 648 ---remember poems should be read a minimum of 3 times in order to truly get their meaning/read it first (maybe even 2 times) then the essay "Fortune's Bones" then the poem a 3rd time for best understanding!) and "Fortune's Bones" (page 653) complete the following only AFTER CAREFULLY READING the selections for full understanding! Remember to take your time and do your best ~
- 1.How is the SPEAKER of the poem best described?
- A.
A skeleton
- B.
The soul
- C.
Weeds and wind
- D.
The stars, sun, and moon
- 2.The sepaker in "Not My Bones" would be UNAFRAID of the idea of death. This is EVIDENCED by how he/she
- A.
Has already experienced a wonderful life
- B.
States that people are much more than their bodies
- C.
Wants to live in the sky among the stars
- D.
Has other things to marvel at/look forward to in life
- 3.What does the speaker mean in the simile she uses in lines 15-19? Which statement BEST represents the idea in the SIMILE itself?
- A.
That a person is not just his/her body
- B.
No body should own somebody else
- C.
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!
- D.
Comparing life to love of living
- 4.Why does Nelson most likely use the word "itty-bitty' to describe the people's voices in line 38 of "Not My Bones"?
- A.
When you praise something, you should do so quietly.
- B.
A voice will eventually disappear, so it's very tiny
- C.
The world is filled with an enormous amount of voices, so one is very small in the midst!
- D.
The stars are way too far away to hear the voices, so it makes one voice seem very small!
- 5.Why does the speaker in "Not My bones" use repetition of the phrase "glad to be free" in lines 41-42 of the poem?
- A.
Saying it several times emphasizes the speaker's happiness.
- B.
Repeating the prhase demonstrates Nelson's confusion.
- C.
The speaker cannot believe that the situation is real.
- D.
The speaker reiterates it because Nelson thinks it is a lie.
- 6.In considering the CENTRAL IDEA and the THEME of the poem, it could be stated to best emphasize.....
- A.
The speaker's love for others
- B.
Differences seen among all races and mankind in general
- C.
Difficulties in the search for freedom
- D.
Strength of enslaved people's hope
- 7.Which statement best indicates what "Not My Bones" suggests about slavery?
- A.
That it is not fun
- B.
That a person's essential nature (who they truly are) can never be enslaved
- C.
That it's illegal to make someone a slave
- D.
That a person who is a slave does not have the strength or courage to fight for him/herself
- 8.The author most likely included the various details about Fortune's personal life to....
- A.
Help the reader understand that he was a slave
- B.
help the reader see him as a person/individual and connect more with him/his plight
- C.
Give reasons for Dr. Porter's keeping Fortune's bones
- D.
To let us - as readers - move back in time to that era
- 9.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?
- A.
She is saying that her bones and her body are not really there.
- B.
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!
- C.
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.
- D.
She is saying that people are sometimes violently mean and ruthless and that she would never own another individual because it is just wrong!
- 10.What was Dr. Porter's medical specialty?
- A.
Studying the human body
- B.
Preserving bones after death
- C.
Finding cures for diseases
- D.
Setting broken bones
- 11.Which detail from the story best supports the idea that Fortune and Doctor Porter had an unusual relationship for a slave and his slave owner?
- A.
Fortune planted crops on Porter's land
- B.
Porter's will left out Fortune's daughters
- C.
Porter willed Fortune's wife to his own wife
- D.
Fortune had a house of his own on Porter's land
- 12.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?
- A.
We are brief incarnations, /We are clouds in clothes,
- B.
I bore light passed on by original flames;/while it was in my hands it was called by name.
- C.
You can murder hope, you can pound faith flat,/ but like wildflowers, they grow right back
- D.
This skeleton was just/ my temporary home.
- 13.Which of the following could you infer has happened to the speaker in the last stanza of the poem?
- A.
He has escaped to the North to become a free man/woman.
- B.
His master granted him his freedom one morning.
- C.
He is rejoicing because of his physical death.
- D.
He got a good night's sleep and felt refreshed when he woke up.
- 14.According to the selection, most slaves who died in Waterbury in the 1700s were
- A.
Baptized before they died
- B.
Returned to their places of origin
- C.
Buried in the town's cemeteries
- D.
Honored by their owners
- 15.Which of the following would be the most likely explanation for how Fortune's skeleton came to be referred to as "Larry?"
- A.
Larry was a popular name among the Porter family
- B.
The family preferred a more traditional name, so they changed it,
- C.
People forgot about the origin of the remains over time, so they picked a random name..
- D.
In Fortune's hometown of Waterbury, Larry was a famous resident, so they re-named the skeleton in his honor
- 16.Which fact supports the idea that Fortune generally was in good health?
- A.
His skeleton was sturdy and complete
- B.
He worked on a farm growing vegetables
- C.
He was the father of four children
- D.
His remains have lasted for more than 200 years.
- 17.How was the decision made by Dr. Porter to preserve Fortune's bones significant for the Porter family?
- A.
The skeleton became a famous exhibit at a museum
- B.
The Porters' last link to Fortune and his family was Fortune's skeleton
- C.
Historians and scientists analyzed the bones to discover important information
- D.
Four more generations of Porters became physicians
- 18.After nearly a century of being forgotten, Fortune's remains were found again by....
- A.
A crew of workers
- B.
The staff of a museum
- C.
A college physicology class instructor
- D.
One of Porter's descendants
- 19.According to the selection, what was the motivating factor that contributed to the museum discontinuing the display of Fortune's bones?
- A.
The members thought the display was disrespectful
- B.
It was deemed unlawful to display the bones of a slave in Waterbury museums
- C.
Children feared the skeleton display when they visited the museum.
- D.
The bones were deteriorating from years of being mistreated in the museum and needed to be repaired
- 20.How would you describe the TONE, or author's attitude towards the subject of Fortune's Bones?
- A.
Angry
- B.
Sad
- C.
Triumphant
- D.
Matter-of-fact
- 21.For what reason do you believe that Marilyn Nelson was inspired to write the poem, "Not my Bones?"
- A.
To inspire others to write poems about the cruelties that slaves had to endure
- B.
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.
- C.
To demonstrate her prowess in connecting a non-fiction article to a poem about death
- D.
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.
- 22.What is the connection of the last line/paragraph of the article in relationship to the central idea of the poem?
- A.
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."
- B.
The author wanted to stress in poetic format and through a non-fiction work that in relationship to Fortune's life, the bones the were his least significant part..
- C.
The author wanted to impress the idea upon the reader that once someone is a slave, they can never truly be free.
- D.
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.
- 23.Both the poem and the non-fiction article about Fortune support the idea that
- A.
Respect for both the living and the dead should be a priority for all of man-kind
- B.
There should be a deeper meaning in life than work
- C.
Slaves had no right to have hope for a better future.
- D.
Slavery was once a necessary evil for those who needed help on Southern plantations
- 24.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?
- A.
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.
- B.
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.
- C.
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.
- D.
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.
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