Question

read the excerpt from \a quilt of a country.\ 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 method best helps you determine the denotative meaning of fault lines? analyze the connotation of \fault lines\ within the excerpt. define \fault lines\ from the overall feeling in the neighboring sentences. research the meaning of \fault lines\ in an earth science textbook. consider the metaphorical context of \fault lines\ in the excerpt.

Explanation:

To determine the meaning of "fault lines" in the given excerpt, considering the metaphorical context is the most appropriate. Metaphors use one concept to describe another, and in this case, "fault lines" is likely used metaphorically (like in geology where fault lines divide and can cause separation) to describe divisions (like the "common enemy" of communism holding disparate parts together, but other divisions like those based on identity - African - American, Mexican - American, Irish - American - might be like fault lines that could disrupt the unity). The other options (defining from overall feeling, researching scientific meaning, looking at neighboring sentences) are less effective. Defining from overall feeling is too vague. Researching the science textbook meaning would give a literal (geological) meaning which may not fit the metaphor here. Looking at neighboring sentences might not fully capture the metaphorical use as considering the broader metaphorical context of the whole text (the "quilt of a country" with different parts held by a common enemy but having potential dividing lines like "fault lines") does.

Answer:

Consider the metaphorical context of "fault lines" in the excerpt.