The ray-lit clouds gleamed glory; and I thought,
"There's solace everywhere!"
Here the speaker in the poem glances at the sky to see light that he didn't expect in the middle of his gloom. In the following stanza he will disregard them, but the hope was there even if he chose to ignore it.
Few,scarce,poor,recieve,end,last,easy,later/past,late,near
Answer:
B) The first paragraph discusses the idea that Americans are united as one despite their difference.
Explanation:
Quindlen portrays a unified American facing a shared adversary, despite their differences. But the second paragraph portrays actions of bigotry that make it difficult to embrace and comprehend their unity.