What is the authors purpose in the story making tracks in mars

"as one of our outstanding historical figures once said, ‘when a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be because of enemies from without but rather because of enemies from within.’" (paragraph 7) how does this quote reveal mccarthy’s point of view and advance the purpose of his speech?

How does the literature of this period influence future generations of american literature? where have you seen traces of these themes and how were they presented in the other literature you read?

How does the underlined figurative language contribute to the meaning of the poem?