The prologue's lines foreshadow the story's main plot: a tragedy between star crossed lovers. It revolves mainly around civil blood and how it will make the civil hands' unclean which is the main 'clue' of the ending of the story which is death.
Hope this helps!
c.it offers a clue to who sponsors the side
Paragraph four of Anna Quindlen "Quilt of a country" is mainly constructed with questions, and repeats the words "What is the point" at the beginning of each question.
She is trying to prove her point, that despite all of the cultures and ethnicities and different backgrounds that constitute the American people, it is not enough to disintegrate the nation, while other countries were torn apart by these differences.
