How does the excerpt from incidents in the life of a slave girl reflect the theme of self-reliance?

well stockyards mean a large yard containing pens and sheds, typically adjacent to a slaughterhouse, in which livestock is kept and sorted. and i'm assuming that by party you   mean a large group of people which does make sense because chicago is a very crowded place much like new york. stockyards tend to take up a lot of room due to needing the area for pens to keep animals in and the fact that stockyards are usually right by slaughterhouse where they process and distribute the product. so its much like a zoo but with some dead animal products close by.

- free verse.

- " in poetry, one of the best ways to practice technique is to write in. i want all to be unstressed so that “all the clocks” and “in the night” are matching anapests. many forms that sharpen skills are useful in free verse."