Question

Hey! Could someone help me with this question? Thanks!

11. In the poem telephone conversations which of the following best describes the characters feelings toward the potential landlady?
A. Disgust
B. Pity
C. Anger
D. Confusion

Answer 1

can you post the poem?

Answer 2

Yeah of course it’s kinda long though so sorry


It seemed like a good price and the location was fine. The landlady promised that she didn’t live in the building. The only thing left was to confess something important about myself. “Ma’am,” I warned the landlady, “I don’t want to waste a trip over there. Just so you know, I’m black.”

There was silence on the phone. In that silence, I could hear the tension between the landlady's prejudice and her manners. When she finally spoke, she sounded like the kind of person who'd be wearing a thick smear of lipstick and have a long, gold-coated cigarette holder in her mouth. Now I was stuck in a terrible position. “How dark are you?” she asked bluntly. It took me a second to realize that I hadn't misheard her. She repeated, “Are you light skinned or very dark skinned?” It was like she was asking me something as simple as choosing between Button A and Button B on the phone booth: to make a call or to return my coins. I could smell her rancid breath hiding beneath her polite speech.

I took stock of my surroundings: a red phone booth, a red mailbox, a red double-decker bus, its tires squelching through the hot asphalt. So this kind of thing actually happens! Feeling ashamed at my rude silence, I gave in and asked, utterly confused and shocked, for clarification.She was nice enough to swap around the order of the words in the question: “Are you dark-skinned,” she asked, “Or very light?” Finally it made sense. I replied: “Are you asking if my skin is the color of regular chocolate or milk chocolate?” Her confirmation was detached and formal, devastating in how thoughtless and impersonal she sounded. I quickly changed my tactic and chose an answer: “My skin color is West African sepia.” And then, as an afterthought, I added, “at least it is in my passport.” Then there was silence again, as she imagined all the possible colors I might be referring to. But then her true feelings took over and she spoke harshly into the phone.

“What is that?” she asked, admitting, “I don’t know what that is.” “It’s a brunette color," I told her. “That’s pretty dark, isn’t it?” she asked. “Not entirely,” I replied. “My face is brunette, but you should see the rest of my body, ma’am. My palms and the soles of my feet are the color of bleached blond hair. Unfortunately, ma’am, all the friction from sitting down has made my butt as black as a raven. Wait, hang on for a moment ma’am!” I said, sensing that she was about to slam down the phone. “Ma’am,” I begged, “don’t you want to see for yourself?”

Answer 3

im not exactly sure but i think the answer is either A or D.

Answer 4

Thanks :)

Answer 5

no problem