Read the passage from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat of Black Stamps. She had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather, and on the Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around, cooling her. She was thin without the taut look of wiry people, and her printed voile dresses and flowered hats were as right for her as denim overalls for a farmer. She was our side's answer to the richest white woman in town.

The author’s purpose in including this passage is to

explain to the reader the way people dressed in Black Stamps.
instruct the reader on the local customs in Black Stamps.
inform the reader of Mrs. Flowers’s social position in Black Stamps.
teach the reader how Mrs. Flowers’s fashion affected Black Stamps.

The harlem renaissance dawned in an era of pervasive racism and segregation. although legally "free," many african americans were still bound by ideas that had their roots in the slavery of earlier centuries. identity and freedom are important ideas presented in many of the poems from the harlem renaissance. furthermore, the values of identity and freedom are not unique to particular times and places. as hughes expresses in "dream variations," all humans want to be able to develop their identities in freedom. what role does freedom play in the poems you read in this unit? what is required of a society to enable each individual to be true to his or her identity and be free to live by that identity? write about at least three of the poems, describing how the poet uses imagery to depict freedom and identity, the lack of it, or the desire for it.

In at least one hundred words, describe how bly uses sarcasm in his poetry to evince an emotional reaction from his readers. how is this emotional reaction strengthened by bly’s ironic language and imagery?

Ihad just taken a heavy lunch and i was taking à nap in a shade. i was alone left to take care of our home. i was awoken by à touch on m'y face and