Read the following passages and answer the question that follows.

passage a: (from narrative of the life of frederick douglass, an american slave by frederick douglass)
"sunday was my only leisure time. i spent this in a sort of beast-like stupor (meaning "daze"), between sleep and wake, under some large tree. at times i would rise up, a flash of energetic freedom would dart through my soul, accompanied with a faint beam of hope, that flickered for a moment, and then vanished. i sank down again, mourning over my wretched (miserable) condition."

passage b: (from the adventures of huckleberry finn by mark twain)
"it was awful thoughts, and awful words, but they was said. and i let them stay said, and never thought no more about reforming. i shoved the whole thing out of my head, and said i would take up wickedness again, which was in my line, being brung up to it, and the other warn't. and for a starter, i would go to work and steal jim out of slavery again; and if i could think up anything worse, i would do that, too; because as long as i was in, and in for good, i might as well go the whole hog."

what theme do the two passages share?

the importance of having freedom

the value of uninterrupted leisure time

crime does not pay no matter the motive

what seems wrong can sometimes be what is right

Pl read these paragraphs from the excerpt. every great play teaches many lessons and touches nearly all social problems. but the great play does this by indirection. every beautiful thought is a teacher; every noble line speaks to the brain and heart. beauty, proportion, melody suggest moral beauty, proportion in conduct and melody in life. in a great play the relations of the various characters, their objects, the means adopted for their accomplishment, must suggest, and in a certain sense solve or throw light on many social problems, so that the drama teaches lessons, discusses social problems and gives intellectual pleasure. the stage should not be dogmatic; neither should its object be directly to enforce a moral. the great thing for the drama to do, and the great thing it has done, and is doing, is to cultivate the imagination. this is of the utmost importance. the civilization of man depends upon the development, not only of the intellect, but of the imagination. most crimes of violence are committed by people who are destitute of imagination. people without imagination make most of the cruel and infamous creeds. they were the persecutors and destroyers of their fellow-men. by cultivating the imagination, the stage becomes one of the greatest teachers. it produces the climate in which the better feelings grow; it is the home of the ideal. all beautiful things tend to the civilization of man. the great statues plead for proportion in life, the great symphonies suggest the melody of conduct, and the great plays cultivate the heart and brain. which statement describes how ingersoll uses a literary technique in his response? a-by using symbols, ingersoll explains the role of artistic expression, which engages readers. b- by using a metaphor, ingersoll explains how artistic thoughts address social issues, which clarifies his idea. c- by using allusion, ingersoll emphasizes the continued growth of artistic expression, which is relatable to readers. d- by using alliteration, ingersoll emphasizes the role drama plays in society, which evokes strong emotion.

Asking questions from a text while reading with what?

Plz asap read this sentence from paragraph 3 of the article. the boys and girls are merely asked to obtain the signatures of ten friends or relatives. how does the word "merely" affect the meaning of the sentence? a- it suggests that asking people to subscribe to the washington times is something negative. b- it implies that obtaining ten signatures is not a requirement for receiving a prize. c- it downplays the fact that to win the prize, children must ask people to subscribe to the washington times. d- it emphasizes that children receive the prize only if they obtain ten signatures.