The correct answer would be b.
You want to test them on what they should know, and see if they are on the level they should be at.
In a nutshell, the purpose of the excerpt is to open the eyes of free women to the hard situation of the slave women. Back then, slaves were looked down upon, especially women. The excerpt aims for free women not to look down on slaves but to understand and empathize with them. After all, everyone is human and of the same earth.