Cultures come and go like the wind yet they leave behind small remains as they go. These remains are our ancestors, their traditions, and our history; And ultimately, they shape us into who we are and who we become. N. Scott Momaday, a Native American, wrote “The Way to Rainy Mountain” (1969) in which he argues that people must find themselves by retracing their past away from busy American life. He uses sensory detail, poetic elements, personification, symbolism, and an oxymoron to display the self acceptance, beauty, and inner peace that one can find through their ancestry. The authors intends to describe his personal experience with finding himself through his roots in order to persuade readers to do the same and embrace their history, …show more content…
In dedicating the entire opening paragraph specifically to vividly describing the natural beauty of his homeland, Nomaday highlights the importance of understanding one’s origins and how they shape oneself. He transports the reader to the Wichita Range using sensory descriptions such as, “hot tornadic winds arise” or “popping up like corn to sting the flesh”. By being so detailed, Nomaday makes a point that this land, which has provided for his people for generations, is significant to him and he takes time out of his way to recognize this fact. He’s indirectly juxtaposing this to our society today where surrounded by technology and screens, we often overlook the beauty of the moment and don't appreciate our nature or our origins. In addition, Nomaday demonstrates his mastering of poetic elements which not only adds a fluency and gives further appreciation for the beauty of the land but also acts to focus the reader on specific, important parts of the text. His alliteration, such as “brittle and brown” or “Great green”, serves to emphasize his appreciation for the appearance and purity of nature. While Momadays detailed description of the land provides appreciation of nature and its beauty, it also serves to establish the tone for the rest of the essay. Uses of personification like “steaming foliage …show more content…
In the process they abandon the values within that make them unique and successful. We are so focused on achieving what we want that we lose sight of what has true importance. Momaday offers answer to this problem in “A Way To Rainy Mountain.” Through his use of rhetorical devices, he shows how one can turn to their roots and the values of their predecessors to find a true identity that is unique and powerful. Through retracing our past we can find the