Question

Read the two passages below. One is from a Native American text and the other is from the Enlightenment period. Then, answer the question that follows. Passage A: from "Imagination" by Phillis Wheatley Imagination! who can sing thy force? Or who describe the swiftness of thy course? Soaring through air to find the bright abode1, Th' empyreal2 palace of the thund'ring God, We on thy pinions can surpass the wind, And leave the rolling universe behind: From star to star the mental optics3 rove, Measure the skies, and range the realms above. There in one view we grasp the mighty whole, Or with new worlds amaze th' unbounded soul. Though Winter frowns to Fancy's raptur'd4 eyes The fields may flourish, and gay scenes arise; The frozen deeps may break their iron bands, And bid their waters murmur o'er the sands. 1home 2imperial; kingly 3eyes 4joy Passage B: "How the Milky Way Came to Be:" a Native American legend Long ago when the world was young, there were not many stars in the sky. In those days the people depended on corn for their food. Dried corn could be made into corn meal by placing it inside a large hollowed stump and pounding it with a long wooden pestle. The cornmeal was stored in large baskets. During the winter, the ground meal could be made into bread and mush. One morning an old man and his wife went to their storage basket for some cornmeal. They discovered that someone or something had gotten into the cornmeal during the night. This upset them very much for no one in a Cherokee village stole from someone else. Then they noticed that the cornmeal was scattered over the ground. In the middle of the spilt meal were giant dog prints. These dog prints were so large that the elderly couple knew this was no ordinary dog. They immediately alerted the people of the village. It was decided that this must be a spirit dog from another world. The people did not want the spirit dog coming to their village. They decided to get rid of the dog by frightening it so bad it would never return. They gathered their drums and turtle shell rattles and later that night they hid around the area where the cornmeal was kept. Late into the night they heard a whirring sound like many bird wings. They look up to see the form of a giant dog swooping down from the sky. It landed near the basket and then began to eat great mouthfuls of cornmeal. Suddenly the people jumped up beating and shaking their noise makers. The noise was so loud it sounded like thunder. The giant dog turned and began to run down the path. The people chased after him making the loudest noises they could. It ran to the top of a hill and leaped into the sky, the cornmeal spilling out the sides of its mouth. The giant dog ran across the black night sky until it disappeared from sight. But the cornmeal that had spilled from its mouth made a path way across the sky. Each gain of cornmeal became a star. What is the common purpose of both passages? to persuade to explain to entertain to inform

Answer 1

TO INFORM IS THE PURPOSE OF THE PASSEGES

Answer 2

To explain

Step-by-step explanation:

The first passage explains how the imagination works in our mind, making us reach admirable thoughts and without any limit. In addition, it explains how the imagination is unstoppable, unlimited and allows us a powerful vision of any concept.

The second passage explains how it was possible for the night sky to become full of stars, through a Cherokee legend, which shows how this happened.

Thus, we can say that the primary intention of the two texts is to explain.