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.

America is a united country despite its cultural differences.

Explanation:

Supporting evidence in the text:

" 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."  

The statement that best summarizes the central idea of this paragraph is letter B) America is a united country despite its cultural differences.

Explanation:

In the article "A Quilt of a Country", author Anna Quindlen discusses how America is interestingly contradictory. She compares the country to a quilt, in the sense that they are both patched together from dissimilar parts. America is formed by all sorts of people, from all over the world. Quindlen mentions that people in America are constantly finding a reason to judge others, to complain about those who are different. Yet, the country remains united, especially in times of fear, of war. It's as if the thread that keeps the patches together were, in America's case, having a common enemy or a common ideal. In the excerpt we are studying here, Quindlen mentions different groups and how they are frequently "on the verge of fisticuffs". Still, they are "impossibly interwoven". There is of separating them. They are all part of the whole, which is America itself.

the power of

boccaccio employs the voice of his narrator dioneo to represent his ideas on the tension between masculinity and femininity.  while dioneo excites the members of the brigata and recognizes women for their unique skills and independent ideas, he concludes the decameron with a story reminiscent of the society from which these young aristocrats escaped, revealing misogynistic overtones.  dioneo boccaccio is able to explore the gender disparity which is inherent in 14th century florentine society.