Question

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 familiar and interesting something powerful and threatening something harmless and pleasant something amusing and impressive

Explanation:

The term "fault lines" is used metaphorically here. In the context of world - wars, fault lines suggest deep divisions and powerful, threatening forces that can cause upheaval, similar to how geological fault lines can cause earthquakes. The text implies that world wars were a powerful and threatening force that held disparate parts together.

Answer:

something powerful and threatening