Question

Read the excerpt from "A Quilt of a Country." Once these disparate parts were held together by a common enemy, by the fault lines of world wars and the electrified fence of communism. With the end of the cold war there was the creeping concern that without a focus for hatred and distrust, a sense of national identity would evaporate, that the left side of the hyphen—African-American, Mexican-American, Irish-American—would overwhelm the right. What is the connotative meaning of fault lines in this excerpt? something powerful and threatening something familiar and interesting something harmless and pleasant something amusing and impressive

Answer 1

Anna Marie Quindlen is the Author of “A Quilt of a Country” written in 2001. She was born on July 8, 1952. She is an American author, journalist, and opinion columnist.

Her New York Times column, “Public and Private”, won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992. She began her journalism career in 1974 as a reporter for the New York Post. Between 1977 and 1994 she wrote several posts at The New York Times. Her semi-autobiographical novel “One True Thing” written in 1994 served as the basis for the 1998 film starring Meryl Streep and Renée Zellweger.

The text of “A Quilt of a Country” was written in response of the “9/11” incident. It explains racism in our country. It shows that people aren't so different after all. It explains how our country bonds together when having enemies. However, it also states how we as a people are still discriminant. It depicts how the different types of people from different nations come together and create a multi-cultural population in the USA.

the connotative meaning of fault lines in this excerpt expresses:

something powerful and threatening

Answer 2

I think the answer is A: Something powerful and threatening
But I could be wrong. Please let me know if I am. :)