Read the excerpt from "A Genetics of Justice” by Julia Alvarez. Images of the dictator hung in every house next to the crucifix and Ia Virgencita with the declaration beneath: In this house Trujillo is Chief. The pale face of a young military man wearing a plumed bicorne hat and a gold–braided uniform looked down beneficently at my mother as she read her romantic novelas and dreamed of meeting the great love of her life. Sometimes in her daydreams, her great love wore the handsome young dictator’s face. Never having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched. Which quotation provides the best evidence for the central idea of this excerpt?
Answer
A
“ In this house Trujillo is Chief .”
B
“The pale face of a young military man wearing a plumed bicorne hat and a goldbraided uniform looked down beneficently at my mother.”
C
“Sometimes in her daydreams, her great love wore the handsome young dictator's face.”
D
“Never having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched.”
Explanation
The excerpt shows that the portrait gave the dictator an idealized appearance, which helped shape the way the narrator’s mother imagined him. The line saying she had never seen him and therefore did not know the portrait was “heavily retouched” most directly reveals that she was seeing a manipulated image rather than the real man. Choice D best supports that central idea.
AI-written and checked against the verified answer.