Due Sunday Morning2!

Scott Russell Sanders literally hugged a tree in the woods, and his thoughts about nature led him to wonder about humanity’s ultimate role in the universe. “What if our role in this all-embracing mind,” he wonders, “is to gaze back…and translate our responses into symbols?” Other writers offered similar surprises in the questions they posed, the stories they told, the thoughts they shared, or the contradictions they explored. Reflecting on at least two of the readings, examine all of the strategies writers used to keep their audience engaged. As you analyze the texts, consider the following questions:

• In what way is the writer’s subject ordinary? How does the writer make it extraordinary?
• How does the writer connect personal experience to more general experiences? Where do you see a shift from the individual to the universal?
• How do you relate to the essay or poem?
• In what ways were you surprised? Why?
• What persona does the writer adopt? How would you describe it?
• Where does the writer use humor or metaphor?
• What stylistic effects does the writer employ?
• Are there lyrical passages that arrest you with their beauty or depth of thought?

Support your statements with evidence from the required studies. Answer in a minimum of 500 words.