Question

read the excerpt from \a genetics of justice\ by julia alvarez. images of the dictator hung in every house next to the crucifix and la virgencita with the declaration beneath: in this house trujillo is chief. the pale face of a young military man wearing a plumed bicorne hat and a gold - braided uniform looked down beneficently at my mother as she read her romantic novelas and dreamed of meeting the great love of her life. sometimes in her daydreams, her great love wore the handsome young dictator’s face. never having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched. which quotation provides the best evidence for the central idea of this excerpt? ○ \in this house trujillo is chief.\ ○ \the pale face of a young military man wearing a plumed bicorne hat and a goldbraided uniform looked down beneficently at my mother.\ ○ \sometimes in her daydreams, her great love wore the handsome young dictator’s face.\ ○
ever having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched.\

Explanation:

To find the best evidence for the central idea, we analyze the excerpt's focus: the mother's perception of the dictator (Trujillo) from his portrait, unaware it was retouched. Let's evaluate each option:

• Option A: "In this house Trujillo is Chief." This is a declaration under his image, not about the mother's perception or the portrait's manipulation.
• Option B: Describes the portrait's appearance but not the key point about the mother's ignorance of retouching.
• Option C: Focuses on the mother's daydreams, not the portrait's inaccuracy.
• Option D: "Never having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched." This directly relates to the central idea of the mother's unawareness of the portrait's manipulation, which is a key part of the excerpt's theme (her perception vs. reality of the dictator's image).

Answer:

D. "Never having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched."