The correct answer is; presenting dialogue that includes a contrasting perspective.
Indeed, there is a hint of irony in the description that immediately follows the dialogue. The immediate landscape is used to show the “heritage-deprived” person that he actually does have a heritage. In other words, he does not need to be a hyphenated American in order to have a heritage because it is right there “dangling over his head”.
The symbolism of the “tall American tree” is used to show how the speaker of these lines that America has its own heritage, which lies in its history, its melting pot and its territory and he cannot even see it. It is this symbolism that provides the contrasting perspective.
