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 is the connotative meaning of fault lines in this excerpt?

something powerful and threatening
something familiar and interesting
something harmless and pleasant
something amusing and impressive

Answer 1

something powerful and threatening

"Fault lines" connotes deep divisions and instability—dangerous fractures that can cause upheaval—matching the idea of wars and communism creating a threatening unifying force.