This question is missing the excerpt. I've found the complete question online. It is the following:
Read this excerpt from “Freedom's Plow” by Langston Hughes.
Down into the earth went the plow
In the free hands and the slave hands,
In indentured hands and adventurous hands,
What theme does this excerpt support?
A. Every American farm supported a number of families.
B. People of all social standings contributed to America’s success.
C. Enslaved people and free citizens forged close friendships in America.
D. Some people worked harder than others on early American farms.
Answer:
The theme that is supported by this excerpt is:
B. People of all social standings contributed to America’s success.
Explanation:
In the poem we are analyzing here, the word "hands" is a metonymy for people. That is, the author refers to hands to refer to people themselves. Metonymy is a figure of speech in which one object or idea takes the place of another. It can be done because those two objects or ideas have a close association.
Therefore, when the author refers to "free hands and the slave hands,
/ In indentured hands and adventurous hands,
" he is indeed referring to different kinds of people. Hughes's purpose is to show that all types of people, form all social standings, contributed to America's success. All those "hands" worked hard.
