Question

read the excerpts from a genetics of justice by julia alvarez.
passage a:
and so, long after we had left, my parents were still living in the dictatorship inside their own heads. even on american soil, they were afraid of awful consequences if they spoke out or disagreed with authorities. the first amendment right to free speech meant nothing to them. silence about anything political was the rule in our house.
passage b:
my mother, especially, lived in terror of the consequences of living as free citizens. in new york city, before trujillo was killed, dominican exiles gathered around the young revolutionary juan bosch planning an invasion of the island. every time my father attended
which statement best analyzes how the author develops the central idea across the two passages?
○ alvarez describes how the sim’s threats and activities followed her family even in the united states.
○ alvarez shows how her parents’ fears about the dictatorship turned out to be false as the situation in the dominican republic improved.
○ alvarez shows how her parents’ fears about the dictatorship affected their thoughts and actions even when they lived in the united states.
○ alvarez describes how her parents learned the values of free speech and freedom of association.

Explanation:

Passage A states the parents avoided political speech and feared authority even in the U.S., while Passage B notes the mother feared consequences of free citizenship in New York. Both passages link the parents' U.S. behavior to their fear of the Dominican dictatorship, matching option C. Other options are incomplete: A only mentions SIM threats, B focuses on the dictatorship's fall not ongoing fear, D incorrectly claims they feared free speech values rather than consequences of exercising them.

Answer:

C. Alvarez shows how her parents' fears about the dictatorship affected their thoughts and actions even when they lived in the United States.