In the passage Last Child in the Woods, the author, Richard Louv implements rhetorical strategies and literary devices to convey that people are becoming more and more distant from nature through advancements in technology over time. Richard Louv starts the passage off by introducing the idea of genetic technology through which scientists can choose the color that appear on butterfly wings. Louv goes on to exaggerate this idea by comparing this discovery to the idea of how companies advertise their brand in nature, by “stamp[ing] their messages into the wet sands of public beaches” (Louv 9-10). This sponsorship in nature is impeding one from fully experiencing nature. Through the idea of manipulating nature, Louv is appealing to pathos as …show more content…
Louv introduces his friend as “a friend of mine… in the material world” (lines 23-25). This sentence is mocking society by saying how people celebrate their existence or survival by spending tons of money on luxurious items. Louv goes on to talk about how the car salesman was shocked by his friend’s decision to not install multimedia entertainment products to the back seat of her car. Louv uses this personal account in order to introduce the audience to his view of how society is becoming even more separated from nature through visual distractions. The author then describes how it was like when his generation was growing up, without entertainment or technology. “We actually looked out the car window… we held our little little plastic cars… and pretended that they, too, were racing towards some unknown destination” (lines 61-71). Louv appeals to ethos through his anecdote establishes credibility and as he describes how he was personally affected by the advancement of technology. This contrast to show how different society is now, illustrates how children today have with drawn their exploring personality now that there is entertainment for kids in a car ride.
Richard Louv utilizes many rhetorical strategies and literary devices in order to convey that humans are becoming more and more separated from nature. Some of these strategies and devices include building ethos and