Since the beginning of humanity, even before civilization, man lived off the land and depended on it for his survival even in the first civilization, the nature controlled all aspects of life. Slowly we began to learn how to control nature and use it to our advantage. Today, man's connection to nature is limited, and as Roheal Louv argues in The Last Child in the Woods, this is a sad truth that continues to progress starkly. Louv opposes the attraction of man and nature using anecdote, hypothetical example and rhetorical devices. Louv uses an accessible anecdote to make his point. The reason he uses a friend's story in which he was pressured into buying a car multimedia system, using a hyperbolic description such as "the salesman's jaw dropped" for dramatic effect. The result of his description of the event is that it leads the reader to feel the same annoyance that the customer must have felt in the anecdote. By making the anecdote seem like a common occurrence, he attempts to demonstrate that the salesperson's attitude towards technology addiction is almost universal in today's society. Louv highlights the common view of a constant need for technology and his disapproval of that view. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To continue building the anecdote about in-car entertainment, Louv uses juxtaposition to help him show his disdain towards the idea. He proposes that “one day we will tell our grandchildren/that there was a time when children looked out the car window/instead of playing on the phone or watching television in the back seat.” The key to the effectiveness of this example of juxtaposition is that it is often realistic. Even today our grandparents tell us about their childhood without TV or internet, so Louv's analysis could certainly prove true. The shocking realism of this makes the reader realize the immediacy of the problem and the pace at which the issue is progressing, effectively causing the separation between man and nature and possibly creating more hypothetical examples in the reader's mind. Finally, Louv uses the devices of the abstract and concrete images to promote his claim of the separation between man and nature, perhaps his most effective tool, Louv's images paint a scene that he is practically incapable of erasing as it is deeply familiar, evocative and has an emotional connection to the issue. His description of the “fogged glass/ of telephone poles following/ counting cows and horses” evokes a nostalgic memory of the reader's childhood, making him unable to resist the desire to preserve these memories for future generations. It makes the reader understand that this experience may be lost for children of future decades if the separation between man and nature is not connected. Louv's images create a sense of painful loss that brings the issue to a personal level for anyone who ever looked out a car window as a child. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now .Get a custom essay Louv's argument is based on anecdotal evidence, rhetorical devices, and imagery, but more importantly, it is based on a sense of personal attachment to the issue at hand. It subtly demonstrates that the disparity between humanity and nature is a problem that affects us all. To preserve the halcyon days of our youth, we must bridge the gap. Louv effectively demonstrates that separation is unnatural and needs to be, 54(2), 195-209..
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