Question

effects of prejudice
man who hated and this was an immutable law.
it began to seem that one would have to hold in the mind forever two ideas which seemed to\be in opposition. the first idea was acceptance, the acceptance, totally without rancor, of life
as it is, and men as they are: in the light of this idea, it goes without saying that injustice is a
of equal power: that one must never, in one’s own life, accept these injustices as
commonplace but must fight them with all one’s strength. this fight begins, however, in the
heart and it now had been laid to my charge to keep my own heart free of hatred and
despair. this intimation made my heart heavy and, now that my father was irrecoverable, i
wished that he had been beside me so that i could have searched his face for the answers
which only the future would give me now.
read the excerpt from notes of a native son.
a few hours after my father’s funeral, while he lay in state in the undertaker’s chapel, a
race riot broke out in harlem. on the morning of the 3rd of august, we drove my father to
the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass.
baldwin describes a personal event taking place amid a riot to
symbolize his
detachment from the
racial prejudice existing
in society.
symbolize the
destructive impact racial
prejudice has on
individual lives.
emphasize his
amazement with the
events taking place
around him.
emphasize the contrast
between his father’s
experiences and his
own.

Explanation:

The excerpt from "Notes of a Native Son" describes a personal event (father's funeral) happening during a race riot. The purpose of this juxtaposition is to show how racial prejudice (the riot is a result of racial tensions) impacts individual lives (the personal loss and the broader social unrest). The option "symbolize his detachment from the racial prejudice existing in society" is incorrect as the text shows engagement with the issue. "Emphasize his amazement with the events" is not supported, and "emphasize the contrast between his father’s experiences and his own" is not the focus here. The correct option is the one about the destructive impact of racial prejudice on individual lives.

Answer:

The correct option is: "symbolize the destructive impact racial prejudice has on individual lives."