When doing a close reading, what is involved in the process of annotating a text?

What is the central idea in this advice from branch rickey to jackie robinson?  

The great depression, which lasted throughout the 1930s in the united states, affected many people, and it had a devastating impact on an entire subset of the u. s. population. modernist writer john steinbeck wrote about the toll the depression took on these families, many of whom were forced to leave their farms and find other sources of income.

The majestic castle, surrounded by green foliage, stood proudly with turrets pointing skyward. which image best shows a visualization of this sentence?