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Passage adapted from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868)
There were to be no ceremonious performances, everything was to be as natural and homelike as possible, so when Aunt March arrived, she was scandalized to see the bride come running to welcome and lead her in, to find the bridegroom fastening up a garland that had fallen down, and to catch a glimpse of the paternal minister marching upstairs with a grave countenance and a wine bottle under each arm.
“Upon my word, here's a state of things!” cried the old lady, taking the seat of honor prepared for her, and settling the folds of her lavender moire with a great rustle. “You oughtn't to be seen till the last minute, child.”
“I'm not a show, Aunty, and no one is coming to stare at me, to criticize my dress, or count the cost of my luncheon. I'm too happy to care what anyone says or thinks, and I'm going to have my little wedding just as I like it. John, dear, here's your hammer.” And away went Meg to help “that man” in his highly improper employment.
This passage supports the statement that Meg is _____________.
Meg is unconcerned with others' opinions of her, and is "going to have my little wedding just as I like it." She just wants to enjoy the day and celebrate her happiness without worrying about common conventions of etiquette.
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"Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off—then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can."
Passage adapted from Moby Dick, Herman Melville (1851)
What does “a damp, drizzly November in my soul” mean?
Winter usually begins to show itself in November, so that month can be the first time the difficult weather of cold rain and snow appears. It’s the beginning of the winter season, promising several months of hard weather times. To Ahab, the beginning of winter is like the beginning of a cycle of depression and rage for him.
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Adapted from Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass (1845)
I lived in Master Hugh’s family about seven years. During this time, I succeeded in learning to read and write. In accomplishing this, I was compelled to resort to various stratagems. I had no regular teacher. My mistress, who had kindly commenced to instruct me, had, in compliance with the advice and direction of her husband, not only ceased to instruct, but had set her face against my being instructed by any one else. It is due, however, to my mistress to say of her, that she did not adopt this course of treatment immediately. She at first lacked the depravity indispensable to shutting me up in mental darkness. It was at least necessary for her to have some training in the exercise of irresponsible power, to make her equal to the task of treating me as though I were a brute.
My mistress was, as I have said, a kind and tender-hearted woman; and in the simplicity of her soul she commenced, when I first went to live with her, to treat me as she supposed one human being ought to treat another. In entering upon the duties of a slaveholder, she did not seem to perceive that I sustained to her the relation of a mere chattel, and that for her to treat me as a human being was not only wrong, but dangerously so.
What inference can be made about the narrator?
The correct answer is that Frederick Douglass was a slave. There are several clues that will lead the reader to this conclusion: first, he says he lives with Master Hughes. The passage mentions that the mistress is taking on the duties of a slaveholder. Douglass also refers to himself as chattel, which means a person held in slavery. There are no clues in the passage that indicate that Douglass was adopted or that he did not speak English as his first language. There is nothing to indicate that learning to read was a challenge for him due to a disability.
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