Birth Witness: In History by Jamaica Kincaid and Where Clouds are formed by Ophelia Zepeda - Essay Example

The purpose of this essay is to define and explain the meaning of history. Ideally, the essay seeks to find out whether history could be an idea and whether history could be a collection of precise and true details or rather facts explaining happenings in one’s life (Kincaid 5).

In addition, this essay is about the life of Christopher Columbus who, according to the author, happened to discover the New World. Although the author portrays his origins as quite vivid, his history commenced with his discovery of the New World in 1492. His principle was that to possess knowledge of anything, one must first give those things a name. Ideas and thoughts of how to describe experiences in his life surround his life and as such, the narrator paints the essay as being a product of personal experiences.

Thus, this essay is all about personal experiences (Kincaid 6-7).“Where Clouds are formed” by Ophelia ZepedaThe audience in this excerpt is a person who possibly needs something that requires him to have a birth certificate or any other official document certifying his date and place of birth. The audience explains his place of birth, not in the form of a district or province but in the form of a house, field, and appearance as well as the weather at the time of his birth. Concerning the quote “you need affidavits”, the intended audience is indeed a person who does not find seem to understand why his baptismal certificate cannot provide the exact time of his birth as regards the requirements needed to certify his birth (Zepeda 1).

The purpose of this essay is to prove to the intended audience that, baptismal time, house, or place of birth, the prevailing weather conditions during birth, and month of birth cannot give the exact date of someone’s birth. Moreover, the function of this essay is to give a clear indication that the language used by the audience’s parents was strong, reliable, and deep even though it did not help to provide the exact date of his birth although he sees no meaning in doing that (Zepeda 2).

Therefore, this essay is about the usefulness of birth documentation as it helps in future reference when involved in official activities. “Burning the shelter” by Louis OwensThe intended audience in this essay is a man who works for the United States Forest Service as a seasonal ranger and encounters a shelter built in the great shoulder of the mountain known as the Glacier Peak on maps (Owens 211). Since he finds it necessary to clear the mountain of all shelter in it, he sets on a mission to pile and burn the White Pass shelter or simply destroy human structures in the forest or wilderness.