How does the poet's use of dashes in lines 4-6 contribute to the meaning of the poem? A The dashes suggest contemplative pauses that reflect how the speaker’s thoughts expand as her soul expands “away” into the universe. B The dashes suggest that everything in the universe is connected, just as the lines are connected by the dashes. C The dashes suggest that the universe is actually empty and meaningless, just as the dashes are silent and represent nothing. D The dashes suggest that the speaker can only speak in short phrases because she is dying, and the dashes represent her labored breathing.

the purpose of the heading in the passage is to identify who is telling the story.

this excerpt is part of the book sugar changed the world (2010) written by marc aronson and marina budhos. as the book has been written by two people, the heading "marc" indicates that this specific excerpt is being narrated by aronson. in the fragment, marc describes his grandfather's story after hearing it from his cousin. however, there are other excerpts where budhos is the one that tells the story of her family.

aronson and budhos, who are husband and wife in real life, decided to write sugar changed the world when they found out how sugar, which had an important role in slavery and economy, changed their ancestors' lives.