Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison

Why does “Caged Bird” begin with an entire stanza about the free bird?

• to describe the acrobatic flight of birds

• to serve as a contrast with the caged bird

• to illustrate why caged birds are fortunate

• to explain why all birds live dangerous lives

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What is “Caged Bird” mainly about?

• love

• singing

• freedom

• slavery

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What is the speaker advising readers about in “Some Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison”?

• how to avoid returning to prison

• how to survive a prison sentence

• how to live when they become free

• how to benefit from the time spent in prison

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What is the speaker’s main message to prisoners in “Some Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison”?

• Do not give up hope.

• Do not try to escape.

• Do not expect to be freed.

• Do not ask for forgiveness.

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Read this line from “Caged Bird.”

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream …

To what does the speaker most clearly refer with the phrase “the grave of dreams”?

• the power of dreams to save someone from despair

• dreams that are not realized but that die unfulfilled

• the fact that dreams are all that is real for someone who is caged

• the meaning of dreams for someone who is caged, a condition like death

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With which of the following statements would the speaker in “Some Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison” most likely agree?

• A prisoner should make every effort to live and to be as optimistic as possible.

• A prisoner should accept the sorrow of a wasted life and give in to circumstances.

• A prisoner should seek an end to life because prison cannot be endured indefinitely.

• A prisoner should hold onto anger and even hatred so he or she does not become beaten.

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Read these lines from “Some Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison,” and think about the meaning of the underlined words.

Part of you may live alone inside,

like a stone at the bottom of a well.

But the other part

must be so caught up

in the flurry of the world

that you shiver there inside

when outside, at forty days’ distance, a leaf moves.

What do the underlined words mean?

• A prisoner who lives alone in a small prison cell knows that sooner or later someone will come to get water and save him or her.

• A prisoner who lives alone in a small prison cell should see himself or herself as living at the center of the world, surrounded by life and all things natural.

• A prisoner who lives alone in a small prison cell may as well be at the bottom of a well because both places are damp, wet, and dark holes

• A prisoner who lives alone in a small prison cell may feel cut off or disconnected from life outside, completely enclosed within his or her isolation.

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Part A

Read these lines from “Some Advice to Those Who Will Serve Time in Prison” and think about the underlined metaphor.

I mean, it’s not that you can’t pass

ten or fifteen years inside

and more—

you can,

as long as the jewel

on the left side of your chest doesn’t lose its luster!

What does the metaphor compare?

• a jewel and prison

• a jewel and freedom

• a jewel and a person

• a jewel and the heart

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What does the metaphor mean?

• You can live inside a prison for ten or fifteen years if you hold on to your anger.

• You can spend ten or fifteen years in a prison cell if you have financial resources.

• You can survive ten or fifteen years in prison if your heart remains hopeful and cheerful.

• You can be inside a prison for ten or fifteen years, but when you get out, you will discover your life is over.

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“Caged Bird” is an extended metaphor comparing the caged bird to African Americans experiencing segregation and racial discrimination. Which statements give the best explanation of the metaphor’s meaning?

• Like the caged bird, African Americans celebrate their safe, secure lives in a protected environment.

• Like the caged bird, African Americans can do whatever they please with their lives.

• Like the caged bird, African Americans have the choice to be free or to live sheltered lives.

• Like the caged bird, African Americans can only long for freedoms they have never experienced.

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