Read this excerpt from Countee Cullen's poem "The Dark Tower," and then complete the sentences that follow.
We shall not always plant while others reap The golden increment of bursting fruit, Not always countenance, abject and mute, That lesser men should hold their brothers cheap; Not everlastingly while others sleep . . .
When Cullen speaks of planting while others reap, and standing "abject and mute," he is speaking about the (1.) _____ injustices present in American society. As these injustices have changed over time, the American (2.)_____ has also shifted. Those changes are, in turn, reflected in American literature.
1. A) racial
B) internal
C) casual
2. A) focus
B) identity
C) response
Answer:
1. A. Racial
2.B. Identity
Explanation:
When Cullen speaks of planting while others reap, and standing "abject and mute", he is speaking about the racial injustices in American society.
He was talking about the unfair treatment the blacks (and other minorities) have been receiving while a lot of people stood mute without doing anything to change it.
As these injustices have changed over time, the American identity has also shifted.
The injustices and unfair treatment changed the way people in America thought and acted, hence the identity shift.
