Read the excerpt from "A Genetics of Justice” by Julia Alvarez.When the novel came out, I decided to go ahead and risk her anger. I inscribed a copy to both Mami and Papi with a note: "Thank you for having instilled in me through your sufferings a desire for freedom and justice." I mailed the package and—what I seldom do except in those moments when I need all the help I can get—I made the sign of the cross as I exited the post office. Days later, my mother called me up to tell me she had just finished the novel. "You put me back in those days. It was like I was reliving it all," she said sobbing. "I don't care what happens to us! I'm so proud of you for writing this book."I stood in my kitchen in Vermont, stunned, relishing her praise and listening to her cry. It was one of the few times since l had learned to talk that I did not try to answer my mother back. If there is such a thing as genetic justice that courses through the generations and finally manifests itself full-blown in a family moment, there it was.
Answer
A
Alvarez describes how writing the novel brought her and her mother closer together.
B
Alvarez realizes that, through her writing, she has finally won her mother’s respect.
C
Alvarez explains how her mother's reaction to her novel provoked a rare moment of peace between them.
D
Alvarez explains how she knew that her mother would appreciate the novel she wrote.
Explanation
The excerpt focuses on the mother’s emotional reaction to the novel and the unusual quiet moment that follows. The author listens to her mother cry and praise the book without answering back, describing this as a moment of “genetic justice.” Choice C best captures this rare moment of peace between them. The passage does not show that Alvarez knew in advance how her mother would react, as choice D suggests.
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