Read the sidebar titled “A Champion for the Soil” from Years of Dust. "Of all the countries of the world," Hugh Bennett said, "we Americans have been the greatest destroyers of land of any race of people barbaric or civilized." Americans changed the land more than "the combined activities of volcanoes, earthquakes, tidal waves, tornadoes and all the excavations of mankind since the beginning of history." Bennett became the first chief of the Soil Conservation Service.

"Big Hugh," the son of a North Carolina cotton planter, was a graduate of the University of North Carolina specializing in soil science. He once asked an unwilling congressional committee to expand the soil conservation program. As he spoke, a cloud of plains dust enveloped Washington. "This, gentleman," he said, "is what I have been talking about." The committee approved his request.

Which image would best support this sidebar?

a portrait of Dorothea Lange
an illustration of a child worker
a map of the Dust Bowl region
a photo of Hugh Bennett speaking

Construct a written analysis of approximately 300−500 words about the poem “the cremation of sam mcgee.” your analysis should explain how the figurative language and literary devices contribute either to the meaning or to the narrative structure— plot, setting, characterization, and point of view—of the poem. your analysis should contain a thesis that is discussed throughout the essay. the essay should also contain textual evidence to support the analysis and a concluding paragraph. be sure to use correct punctuation, grammar, and spelling, and write using a formal style with precise vocabulary. use terms from the list provided below to construct your analysis. ballad—a type of narrative poem that tells a story, usually in the form of a folktale or legend stanza—a division of a poem that consists of two or more lines diction—the selection and use of words that influence the style and tone of the poem connotation—the emotional suggestion or implied meaning of a word that goes beyond its dictionary definition denotation—the actual or dictionary definition of a word rhythm—the recurrence of sound patterns created by a series of stressed and unstressed syllables meter—the pattern of beats within a line of poetry created by the rhythmic structure of stressed sounds rhyme scheme—a pattern of rhymes in poetry tone—the attitude of the poet toward the subject or readers, separate from mood or atmosphere mood—the overall or prevailing feeling that is created in a story or poem theme—the central idea of the story that reveals something about human life or behavior as you write your analysis, consider these questions: what is the function of rhyme in the poem? what would the poem be like if it did not rhyme? how do the rhyme and rhythm affect or enhance the meaning of the poem? how does the use of imagery and figurative language affect the poem? how is the subject matter and conflict affected by the structure of the poem? did i conclude my analysis clearly, supporting my analysis?