Question

read the excerpt from \a genetics of justice\ by julia alvarez.
periodically, trujillo would demand a tribute, and they would acquiesce. a tax, a dummy vote, a portrait on the wall. to my father and other men in the country, the most humiliating of these tributes was the occasional parade in which women were made to march and turn their heads and acknowledge the great man as they passed the review stand.
if you did not march, your cédula would not be stamped, and without a stamped identification card, you could do nothing; in particular, you could not obtain your passport to leave the country under the pretext of wanting to study heart surgery. this was the second escape—this time with his whole family—that my father was planning.
the day came when my mother had to march.
which statement best explains how the author develops the central idea throughout the passage?
○ alvarez shows that the parades were embarrassing but were not a serious matter.
○ alvarez shows that trujillo enjoyed it when people paid attention to him.
○ alvarez shows that refusing to obey trujillo’s requests could be dangerous.
○ alvarez shows that women played an important part in political life.

Explanation:

• Analyze Option 1: The passage implies the parades were humiliating and had serious consequences (like affecting cédula stamping), so this is incorrect.
• Analyze Option 2: The passage focuses on the consequences of not complying with Trujillo's demands, not on his enjoyment of attention, so this is incorrect.
• Analyze Option 3: The text states that if one did not march (refuse to obey Trujillo's implicit demand for participation in parades), their cédula would not be stamped, which had serious implications (couldn't get a passport, etc.). This shows refusing his requests could be dangerous.
• Analyze Option 4: The passage is about the pressure to comply with Trujillo's demands via parades, not about women's important role in political life. So this is incorrect.

Answer:

C. Alvarez shows that refusing to obey Trujillo’s requests could be dangerous.