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 meija kahns \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, kahn 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 one 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 \hotly\ declared retort.
\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 in which a person may feel torn. but doors not only close off spaces, 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 tense, the drama between the grandmother and customers hardly rises 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 grounded in lack of understanding, lack of knowledge, and lack of familiarity, which are not insurmountable.
question 2
instructions
read the question carefully and select the best answer
which of the following selections best states a shared central idea of both the poem and the essay analyzing it?
a. being of different backgrounds is a benefit, not a burden.
b. without someone to bridge the gap, disparate cultures will never unite.
c. if left unaddressed, cultural differences will cause epic conflict.
d. a shared love of consumerism has made resolving personal differences easy.

Explanation:

The text discusses the granddaughter's role as an intermediary between two cultures (Arab and American). It emphasizes that her dual - identity (being part of both cultures) gives her a unique perspective. Option A aligns with this as it suggests that having different backgrounds (a dual - cultural identity in this case) is a benefit (as it helps in de - escalating conflict, seeing both sides) rather than a burden.
Option B is incorrect because the text does not imply that there is a need for someone to "bridge the gap" in a way that suggests cultures can't unite without an intermediary. The granddaughter's role is more about her own perspective and de - escalating a specific situation rather than a general statement about cultures uniting.
Option C is wrong as the text clearly states that the conflict between the grandmother and customers is not at the level of "epic conflict" between cultures.
Option D is not relevant as the text has nothing to do with "consumerism" being the reason for resolving differences.

Answer:

A. Being of different backgrounds is a benefit, not a burden.