Refer to explorations in literature for a complete version of the text. read this excerpt from "a letter from birmingham jail" by martin luther king jr. : now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity. which statement best describes the connotative meaning of the word quicksand? a) it has a negative connotation, suggesting misplaced anger and vice. b) it has a positive connotation, suggesting hope and radical change. c) it has a positive connotation, suggesting speed and efficiency. d) it has a negative connotation, suggesting instability and stymied progress.