Question

for over a century americans have been making choices at sears. ge or frigidaire? white or stainless steel? extended warranty or take your chances? likewise, the speaker in mohja kahfs \my grandmother washes her feet in the sink of the bathroom at sears\ must choose from a host of available options, not the least of which is \a clash of civilizations\ or \the great common ground.\ through her portrayal of the granddaughter, kahf challenges the commonly held belief that hyphenated americans are torn between two cultures.
2 confronted by customers who \shake their heads and frown\ at her grandmother, who washes her feet in preparation for prayer, the speaker becomes an intermediary between two sides, east and west, each of which \knows the culture-the right one.\ the speaker must reconcile seemingly irreconcilable perspectives: on the one hand, that of the customers, who view the grandmothers act as \an affront to american porcelain, / a contamination of american standards,\ and on the other hand, that of the grandmother herself, who, \though she speaks no english, / catches their meaning\ takes offense, and, in arabic, asks her granddaughter to hurl a \holy\ declared insult.
\my feet are cleaner than their sink.
worried about their sink, are they? i
should worry about my feet!\
3 the granddaughter keeps this indignant response to herself. her goal is to de-escalate the conflict, if not altogether resolve it, a task complicated by her identity. she belongs not to one or the other side, but to a bit of both. she is arab and american, \foreign\ and domestic. she literally stands in the middle, \between the door and the mirror,\ a difficult position to be in, for sure, one to which a person may feel torn. but doors not only close off contact; they open into them. mirrors reflect ourselves back to us, helping to reveal what we might otherwise overlook. in this way, the granddaughters in-between identity provides her with a unique perspective-she sees both sides-and this proves to be advantageous.
4 though limited, the dual awareness the granddaughter and customers barely rise to the level of epic conflict between cultures, and while a divide does exist between the two sides, it is not a chasm-the disagreement is occasioned by lack of understanding, not lack of knowledge. each side, in fact, knows the others culture, but neither knows the others heart. the granddaughter, however, knows both. she is the \great common ground,\ the one who can translate between the two sides, not only linguistically but also emotionally. she is the one who can see the grandmothers act as both a religious ritual and a potential affront. she is the one who can see the customers reaction as both a defense of their standards and a display of intolerance. her dual identity, then, is not a liability but an asset. it allows her to see both sides, to understand both sides, and to bridge the gap between them.
question 3
the essays author includes the following passage (paragraph 3) mainly to __________.
the granddaughter keeps this indignant response to herself. her goal is to de-escalate the conflict, if not altogether resolve it, a task complicated by her identity. she belongs not to one or the other side, but to a bit of both. she is arab and american, \foreign\ and domestic. she literally stands in the middle, \between the door and the mirror,\ a difficult position to be in, for sure, one to which a person may feel torn.
a. argue that the granddaughter doesnt know whether she should try to resolve the conflict or get angry
b. show that being arab american makes the situation especially difficult for the granddaughter
c. explain that because the granddaughter identifies as both arab and american, she struggles with how best to support a resolution
d. argue that the granddaughters goals are unachievable since her identity will always be a source of complication

Explanation:

The passage emphasizes the granddaughter's dual identity (Arab and American) complicating her goal of de - escalating conflict. Option B correctly highlights how being Arab - American makes the situation difficult for her. Option A is incorrect as the text doesn't focus on her not knowing how to respond. Option C is wrong because it's not about her having two identities making it hard to resolve but rather the dual identity complicating the situation. Option D is too extreme as it says her goals are unachievable, which the text doesn't state.

Answer:

B. show that being Arab - American makes the situation especially difficult for the granddaughter