Why does Sam say Abraham Lincoln is a man of magnitude? Is Hally justified when he tells Sam that he’s never been a slave? (4-6 COMPLETE SENTENCES)

Strong answers will draw comparisons between the American chattel slave system and the South African apartheid system. They will consider what aspects of life for the black peoples in the United States and those in South Africa are the same and which are different. They will also attempt to see the situation from Sam’s perspective, as a middle aged black man living at the height of an apartheid state.

For the second part of the question, high scoring responses will consider the situation from Hally’s point of view. They will think about the limited understanding of black life Hally has as a young white South African male. At the teacher’s discretion, this question can be used as scaffolding for the “Apartheid—Slavery Venn Diagrams” activity.