Question

1 for over a century americans have been making choices at sears. ge or frigidaire? white or stainless steel? extended warranty or take your chance? likewise, the speaker in mona katts 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, kahl 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 1 instructions read the question carefully and select the best answer. which of the following statements best explains the relationship between shopping and cultural identity as expressed in paragraph 1? a. they both require that people make choices. b. consumerism is highly influenced by an individuals cultural background. c. companies try to target certain communities with their advertising campaigns. d. cultural identity isnt an indicator in shopping, but gender is. pa - ela. cc1.2.9 - 10.0

Explanation:

The text discusses how the speaker (a hyphenated American) is in a situation where shopping (choices like GE or Frigidaire, etc.) and cultural identity (the grandmother's act which is related to her cultural background - washing feet for prayer) are intertwined. The grandmother's cultural background (Arab, as she speaks Arabic) influences her actions, and the customers' reactions are also based on their cultural understanding (seeing it as an affront to American porcelain/standards). So consumerism (shopping - making choices among products) is influenced by cultural background.

• Option A: There's no indication in paragraph 1 that shopping and cultural identity “both require that people make choices” in a parallel, equivalent - requirement sense. The focus is more on cultural influence on consumerism.
• Option C: There's no mention of companies targeting communities with advertising in paragraph 1.
• Option D: There's no mention of gender being an indicator in shopping in paragraph 1.

Answer:

B. Consumerism is highly influenced by an individual's cultural background.