Question

read the excerpt from \a genetics of justice\ by julia alvarez.

passage a:
in december 1960, four months after our arrival, time magazine reported the murder of the three mirabal sisters, who along with their husbands had started the national underground dominican republic. my parents confiscated the magazine. to our many questions about what was going on, my mother always had the ready answer, \en boca cerrada no entran moscas.\ no flies fly into a closed mouth. later, i found out that this very saying had been scratched on the lintel of the entrance of the sim’s torture center at la cuarenta.

passage b:
the novel would be a fictional retelling of the story of three mirabal sisters, contemporaries of my mother, whose murder had been reported in that confiscated

what central idea do these excerpts work together to develop?

○ alvarez grappled with the issue of writing a novel about a dangerous subject.
○ alvarez learned about a terrible murder and decided to write a fictional retelling of it.
○ alvarez decided to publish her novel without regard for her mother’s feelings.
○ alvarez faced one of the biggest challenges of being a writer: choosing a topic.

Explanation:

• Analyze each option:
• Option 1: The excerpts focus on the topic of the novel (Mirabal sisters' murder) rather than the danger of the subject in writing. Eliminate.
• Option 2: Passage A introduces the murder of the Mirabal sisters, and Passage B states the novel is a fictional retelling of their story. This matches.
• Option 3: There's no mention of publishing without regard for mother's feelings. Eliminate.
• Option 4: The excerpts are about the specific topic (Mirabal sisters) for the novel, not the general challenge of choosing a topic. Eliminate.

Answer:

B. Alvarez learned about a terrible murder and decided to write a fictional retelling of it.