Question

Read the excerpt from "A Quilt of a Country."

What is the point of this splintered whole? What is the point of a nation in which Arab cabbies chauffeur Jewish passengers through the streets of New York—and in which Jewish cabbies chauffeur Arab passengers, too, and yet speak in theory of hatred, one for the other? What is the point of a nation in which one part seems to be always on the verge of fisticuffs with another, blacks and whites, gays and straights, left and right, Pole and Chinese and Puerto Rican and Slovenian? Other countries with such divisions have in fact divided into new nations with new names, but not this one, impossibly interwoven even in its hostilities.

Which statement best summarizes the central idea of this paragraph?

America’s cultural differences have caused it to fracture.
America is a united country despite its cultural differences.
America’s cultural differences make it impossible to live peacefully.
America is always on the verge of civil unrest due to its multicultural citizens.

Answer 1

America is a united country despite its cultural differences.

The paragraph highlights deep divisions and tensions but emphasizes that, unlike other countries, the U.S. remains interwoven and not divided into separate nations.