How do absurd logic and formal language create a comic effect when describing an everyday object such as an umbrella

This is due to contrast in language. Describing a simple and everyday object such an umbrella is not supposed to need formal or logic language and that is, precisely, the comic effect of the comparison.

the answer is a.

explanation:

the clause "looking toward the south" modifies "a funnel cloud." it's not really the cloud that's "looking," but grammatically, that clause is modifying the cloud.

in the quotation from passage, connie willis states that literature is a way for authors from the past to communicate with readers of today. we can read their stories, books, and other texts to learn lessons about life. willis refers to these lessons as messages “from beyond the grave.” willis has a favorable viewpoint about the timelessness of literature.