What to the slave is the fourth of july? by frederick douglass extract from an oration, at rochester, july 5, 1852 fellow-citizens—pardon me, and allow me to ask, why am i called upon to speak here to-day? what have i, or those i represent, to do with your national independence? are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that declaration of independence, extended to us? and am i, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits, and express devout gratitude for the blessings, resulting from your independence to us? but, such is not the state of the case. i say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. i am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. the blessings in which you this day rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. the rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. the sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. this fourth of july is yours, not mine. you may rejoice, i must mourn. to drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? . . fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, i hear the mournful wail of millions, whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are to-day rendered more intolerable by the jubilant shouts that reach them. if i do forget, if i do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, "may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth! " to forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before god and the world. my subject, then, fellow-citizens, is american slavery. i shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slave's point of view. standing there, identified with the american bondman, making his wrongs mine, i do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this fourth of july. whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. what is the main message of douglass's speech?

The theme of the first seven years is consistent with characteristics of the time in which it was written. what is consistent about the era and the story’s plot?

Which phrase from the article suggests a tone that is formal but subjective? a- "thirty-six inches long and sixteen inches wide" b- "loads of fun with it" c- "most generous and attractive" d- "must be new subscribers" one of the most generous and attractive offers ever made to washington boys and girls is announced today by the washington times circulation department. for a limited time, national capital youngsters who show enterprise and energy will be given disc wheel coaster wagons in return for a few hours of their time. each boy or girl who sends in to the circulation manager, room 242, the names and addresses of ten friends or relatives who agree to take the washington times for six months, will receive one of these wagons, which can be made a source of profit as well as unending enjoyment for youngsters. the boys and girls are merely asked to obtain the signatures of ten friends or relatives. no money is to be collected and no work is required. the washington times is the most popular and constantly growing newspaper in the national capital and it is easy and simple to obtain the required ten signatures. as soon as the signatures are verified, the disc wheel coaster wagon will be delivered to the energetic boy or girl. the disc wheel coaster wagon is thirty-six inches long and sixteen inches wide. the coaster is built exactly like a high-powered automobile. the disc wheels have rubber tires and true roller bearings. it runs as smoothly as an eight-cylinder automobile. it is built of the strongest wood and is equipped with a reliable hand brake, enabling the owner to stop in an instant. the tongue—usually the first thing about a wagon to break and render the wagon unserviceable—is so stout that a man can jump on it without breaking it. it is built for real boys and active girls and they are bound to have loads of fun with it. besides using the wagon for pleasure and going visiting, boys and girls can use it to make money, running—or riding—errands, delivering packages, wheeling marketing home, etc. the disc wheel coaster wagon is so strongly built that it will withstand the roughest usage to which it may be subjected and will last for years. every boy and girl who wants one of the attractive and most desirable disc wheel coaster wagons should start today to sign up the necessary ten relatives or friends as home delivery subscribers for the washington times for six months. bear in mind that the ten persons whose signatures you obtain must be new subscribers—that is, they must be persons who are not having the washington times delivered at their homes at present. here’s hoping every boy and girl in washington gets a disc wheel coaster wagon before many days.

Read the excerpt from "the love song of j. alfred prufrock." and indeed there will be time to wonder, “do i dare? ” and, “do i dare? ” time to turn back and descend the stair, with a bald spot in the middle of my hair— [they will say: “how his hair is growing thin! ”] my morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, my necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin— [they will say: “but how his arms and legs are thin! ”] do i dare disturb the universe? in a minute there is time for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse. which lines indicate that the speaker is concerned about what others think of him?