Question

A central idea of the poem "Sympathy" is that the bird wants to be free.

How does this idea develop over the course of the poem?
The caged bird wants to swim in the river but realizes he is already free and sings a song of joy.
O The caged bird sees the sun and becomes angry that he can't fly free to feel its warmth.
O The caged bird beats his wing against the cage and sings a prayer to heaven to gain his freedom.
The caged bird wants to smell the flowers but realizes that his old scars still hurt, and he can no longer fly.

Answer 1

The correct answer is The caged bird beats his wing against the cage and sings a prayer to heaven to gain his freedom.

Step-by-step explanation:

The poem Sympathy By Paul Laurence Dunbar describes a bird that yearns for its freedom, but finds itself inside a cage. The bars are stained with blood when hitting against them. The wounds that are made when hitting throb like the wounds of her ancestors "pain still throbs in the old, old scars". The caged bird sings, but its song is not happy, being rather a prayer that magnetizes its soul and rises to heaven "It is not a carol of joy or glee, // But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core , ....

Given this information we can say that the correct answer is The caged bird beats his wing against the cage and sings a prayer to heaven to gain his freedom.