Question

each other from opposite ends of a couch, like a two - headed disputatious literary creature. much of our pleasure had nothing to do with race. but race was an explicit part of our connection. we confessed our mutual love of the literal color blindness imposed by writing. our ink was as black, our page as white as anyone’s. i smile now to see i had the debates with janet about asian - american assimilation i would later have with paul7 about gay assimilation. in one moment, janet would rail against a mutual acquaintance, an asian - american woman, who had gotten eyelid surgery—the “asian nose job,” as she put it. she thought it was self - hating, an attempt to “act white.” i wasted my words reminding her that double eyelids were cherished in japan, and that eyelid surgeries were done there too. she insisted that the spread of the surgery worldwide only proved that white standards of beauty had colonized the world. it was likewise futile to point out she often criticized me for failing to assimilate. whenever i got my hair cut too short, it was janet who would needle me for looking “fresh off the boat.” when i suggested a tension between these two positions, she quoted whitman, i am large, i contain multitudes. only in america, my mother would say, shaking her head with bemusement, could a japanese date a korean so naturally, quoting american poetry all the while. what had the two countries shared but centuries of racial enmity? when i went to visit janet’s family in connecticut, my mother told me to get them an “american” gift. i wasn’t about to proffer a portrait of the emperor, but i knew what she meant. she wanted me to meet them on the common ground of our assimilation into asian america. yet if dating janet represented assimilation in one sense, it was also its rejection. to date another asian was to be raced apart. we would often be the only asians in a social group, and some would presume we were together from our race alone. even today, strangers at social functions sometimes assume me to be married to a female asian colleague. true assimilation would have meant avoiding romantic association with asians in the way i avoided asian groups.
4 mark for review
which of the following statements best describes the function of the passage’s final paragraph?
a it restates the author’s thesis in a way that is designed to engage his audience’s attention.
b it answers an earlier objection to the author’s argument.
c it exhorts the audience to avoid making assumptions about strangers.
d it examines the significance of the author’s argument in a broader cultural context.

Explanation:

To determine the function of the passage’s final paragraph, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The final paragraph does not restate the thesis to engage the audience; it extends the argument about assimilation.
• Option B: The paragraph does not answer an earlier objection. Instead, it provides additional context about the author’s experiences with assimilation.
• Option C: The paragraph does not exhort (urge) the audience to avoid assumptions about strangers; it describes the author’s personal experiences and societal pressures.
• Option D: The final paragraph examines the significance of the author’s argument (about assimilation) in a broader cultural context, including societal pressures, racial dynamics, and how assimilation is perceived in Asian American communities. This aligns with analyzing the argument’s significance in a wider cultural framework.

Answer:

D. It examines the significance of the author’s argument in a broader cultural context.