Answer:
my fellow Americans there's a problem in America and I know how to solve it
The literary device used in these lines is Personification.
The personification is a figure of speech in which a thing is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the capacity to act like human beings. This device makes the piece more interesting to read and makes it more sensitive to the reader.
I'd say that the theme of this story encourages us that anyone can be important. Not just lawmakers or rich people or even extroverts, but anyone, whether you're a shy artist or an outgoing sporty-type. Some variation on that is probably what you're looking for, I shouldn't do your work for you! :)
Explained is the action verb.
The activity director is completing the action of explaining the context rules.
"We had passed through long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs."
"We are below the river's bed. The drops of moisture trickle among the bones."
These are some sentences that give us the creepy setting that makes for an eerie mood.