Question

question 20 of 20
read this excerpt from james baldwins
otes of a native son\
but i knew that it was folly, as my father would have said,
this bitterness was folly. it was necessary to hold on to the
things that mattered. the dead man mattered, the new life
mattered; blackness and whiteness did not matter; to
believe that they did was to acquiesce in one’s own
destruction. hatred, which could destroy so much, never
failed to destroy the man who hated and this was an
immutable law.
which sentence best explains how baldwin conveys his ideas on hatred and
acceptance in this excerpt?
a. he accepts that hatred can destroy and that skin color is
unimportant.

b. he accepts that hatred destroyed his father and vows not to
succumb to it.

c. he accepts that hating discrimination of any kind is the best way

Explanation:

In the excerpt, Baldwin states “blackness and whiteness did not matter” and “Hatred... never failed to destroy the man who hated”. Option A matches these ideas. Option B is incorrect as there's no mention of hatred destroying his father. Option C's focus on “hating discrimination” is not conveyed; the excerpt is about the futility of hatred and insignificance of skin color.

Answer:

A. He accepts that hatred can destroy and that skin color is unimportant.