The line comparing complexion to an infernal hue implies which belief?

The line comparing complexion to an infernal hue implies which belief?

• A. Africans are entitled to the same rights as Europeans.
• B. The complexion is a mere cosmetic difference with no moral implications.
• C. Those who support slavery are evil, and their souls are doomed.
• D. Slavery is a humane institution when managed well.

Answer: (C)

The line uses a religious, hellish image to make a moral judgment about slavery itself. By likening a complexion to an infernal hue, the speaker ties racial difference to sin and damnation, signaling that supporting slavery is a grave moral wrong. In this view, the focus is not on rights or neutral differences, but on condemning the people who defend or profit from slavery as having evil character—souls doomed to hell. That’s why the statement reads as a strong moral indictment of slavery proponents. The other ideas—that race is just cosmetic, that Africans deserve equal rights, or that slavery can be humane—don’t capture this explicit moral damnation conveyed by the infernal imagery.

The line uses a religious, hellish image to make a moral judgment about slavery itself. By likening a complexion to an infernal hue, the speaker ties racial difference to sin and damnation, signaling that supporting slavery is a grave moral wrong. In this view, the focus is not on rights or neutral differences, but on condemning the people who defend or profit from slavery as having evil character—souls doomed to hell. That’s why the statement reads as a strong moral indictment of slavery proponents. The other ideas—that race is just cosmetic, that Africans deserve equal rights, or that slavery can be humane—don’t capture this explicit moral damnation conveyed by the infernal imagery.