What are the literary devices: 1) The men at the windows had not yet swooped into the Hall, like birds of prey from their high perches. 2. Every green leaf, every blade of grass and blade of grain, was as shriveled and poor as the miserable people.

Similes.

Explanation:

Similes are the literary devices that writers use to enrich their works through the use of comparison words such as "like" or "as". It allows them to add more color to their work, giving them techniques that allow them to heighten the imaginative perception of their readers.

In the first sentence, "the men at the windows" are compared to "birds of prey" who swoop in to attack and devour their victims. Likewise, the second sentence also contains a simile for it uses "as" to compare "the miserable people" and "every green leaf, every blade of grass and blade of grain". Both sentences use the comparison word "like" (sentence 1) and "as" (sentence 2).

Thus, the literary device used in the sentences is a simile.  

compare & contrast informative essay/speech

when speaking or writing for the sole purpose of providing information in order to give audience members a good basis for making a decision, you would present an informative speech or essay.   because you wouldn’t want to be persuading the audience by arguing for one type of exercise over the other, you wouldn’t choose a persuasive/argumentative technique.   to fairly, and without bias, present information about the pros and cons of each type exercise, a compare/contrast, informative speech/essay would be the best bet.