Read the following excerpt from the article "vision, voice and the power of creation: an author speaks out," by t. a. barron, and answer the question that follows:

another way to tap the power of imagination is through place. my own background as a writer is rooted in nature, having grown up reading henry david thoreau, rachel carson, and john muir long before i ever dipped into madeleine l'engle, lloyd alexander, ursula le guin, e. b. white, or j. r.r. tolkien. my early writings were really nature journals; at nine, i wrote a complete biography—of a tree. (it was a once-majestic chestnut tree not far from my home.) so it should come as no surprise that i view place as much more than just a setting for a story. it is, in truth, another form of character, no less alive and complex, mysterious and contradictory, than the richest character in human form.

the author writes that he "wrote a complete biography—of a tree." what message is implied about the tree with this statement?

the author couldn't think of any other subject for a biography.
the author didn't think a partial biography was enough.
the author didn't want to speak for the tree.
the author believed the tree had a life story, like a person.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)