Question

read the excerpt from \a genetics of justice\ by julia alvarez. my mother must have been intrigued. she knew nothing of the horrid crimes of the dictatorship, for her parents were afraid to say anything—even to their own children—against the regime. so, as a young girl, my mother must have thought of el jefe as a kind of movie star. she must have wanted to meet the great man. what is the central idea in this paragraph? ○ her mother’s image of the great man did not match reality. ○ her mother loved movie stars when she was a young girl. ○ her mother and her family kept secrets from one another. ○ her family talked about the horrid crimes of the dictatorship.

Explanation:

The paragraph says the mother's parents were afraid to speak (even to their kids) about the dictatorship's crimes, but the mother saw the dictator (El Jefe) as a movie star - showing her image of the "great man" (the dictator) didn't match the reality of his regime's crimes. Other options: B is wrong (loving movie stars isn't the focus), C is wrong (the family kept secrets, but the main idea is the mother's mismatched perception), D is wrong (the family was afraid to talk about the crimes, not that they did talk). So A is correct.

Answer:

A. Her mother’s image of the great man did not match reality.