Answer this question based off the poem "In Trying Times". The persona's attitude towards the great dream is?

Question

A. Positive

B. Excited

C. Neutral

D. Negative

They asked that man for his time

so that he could link it to History.

They asked him for his hands,

because for trying times

nothing is better than a good pair of hands.

They asked him for his eyes

that once had tears

so that he should see the bright side

(the bright side of life, especially)

because to see horror one startled eye is enough.

They asked him for his lips,

parched and split, to affirm,

to belch up, with each affirmation, a dream

(the great dream)

they asked him for his legs

hard and knotted

(his wandering legs)

because in trying times

is there anything better than a pair of legs

for building or digging ditches?

They asked him for the grove that fed him as a child,

with it’s obedient tree.

They asked him for his breast, heart, his shoulders.

They told him

that that was absolutely necessary.

they explained to him later

that all this gift would be useless

unless he turned his tongue over to them,

because in trying times

nothing is so useful in checking hatred or lies.

and finally they begged him,

please, to go take a walk.

Because in trying times

that is, without a doubt, the decisive test.

Answer 1

To answer this question you need some background on this poem. It was written by Heberto Padilla, a Cuban poet and Revolutionary, who was imprisoned by Castro after speaking out against his government.

The poem is primarily about the sacrifices a country asks of its soldiers, and lists those sacrifices: time, hands, eyes...

It is also about how, after making these sacrifices, the government turns its back on the soldier (read the last 9 lines, beginning with "They told him..."

And that brings us to your question about "the great dream." Here are the lines: "They asked him for his lips, parched and split, to affirm, to belch up, with each affirmation, a dream (the great dream)."

In this poem, "the great dream" does not refer to the soldier's great dream, but to his country's great dream. That is, the reason they have sent soldiers to war.

To answer the question, ask yourself how might a person feel about the sacrifices he made to fight for a cause he may or may not believe in himself, for a country who sees him as an instrument to achieve their "great dream."