The Essays I wrote

Rhetorical Strategies in Last Child in the Woods

Writer, Richard Louv, in this excerpt from Last Child in the Woods, reveals how the separation between humans and nature has affected humans. Louv states and supports that this separation has an effect that is detrimental to humans. He makes use of anecdote and emotionally charged diction to inform us of the harmful changes that humans are undergoing and to encourage us to thin the thick line that separates us and nature.

In the first paragraph, Louv gives examples and quotes another author on how nature is being used to separate it and humans even further apart. The words, such as adjectives and verbs, that Louv selects in this paragraph exaggerates the mechanical and money-seeking ways of organizations and companies. "Advertisers already stamp their messages into the wet sands of public beaches. Cash-strapped municipalities hope corporations agree to affix their company logo on parks in exchange for dollars to keep the public spaces maintained." (lines 9-13)

The second paragraph is an anecdote. Louv uses this as an example to show that people are becoming more and more detached from nature. Most of the fancy gadgets and new technology that are being made and invented are helping to thicken the border between people and nature. The fact that the salesman couldn't understand why Louv's friend didn't want a backseat television monitor just shows how removed from nature some people are.

Lines 43-73 contains rhetorical questions and emotion. It also includes a small, made-up anecdote in lines 60-62. The emotion is significantly noticeable when Louv describes what kids used to do, lines 48-56 and lines 62-73. Also, when Louv writes "In our useful boredom ... blink of an eye." (lines 62-73) Louv hints that imagination and creativity are tied to our association with nature, and as our bond with nature diminishes so does our imagination and creativity.

"We considered the past and dreamed of the future, and watched it all go by in the blink of an eye."