Rhetorical Analysis Of Richard Louv's Last Child In The Woods

In his book, The Nature Principle, Richard Louv talks about how nature is a natural resource to many of the problems we as humans are facing today, if we would just go outside and take advantage of it. Louv talks about how we (as American’s) have increased our use of technology vastly in the last ten years. While this is not comply bad, it does have negative effects on our physical, emotional and spiritual being if not kept in check. Louv goes on to share that, “the more high tech we become, the more nature we need” (Louv, 2011). Think about a time you have sat in your office for hours on end, working on your computer, at last lunch time came and you went outside for just five minutes because you forgot something in your car. In just those few minutes of going outside, you might have noticed a slight increase in your happiness level. Can you then venture to understand how this could be applied to children, or even increased with taking more time to enjoy nature? Richard Louv challenges his readers to not only be in nature, but to live with nature (Louv, 2011) .

‘The sheer popularity’ of stimulating nature or using nature as ad space ‘demands that we acknowledge, even respect, their cultural importance,’ suggests Richtel. Culturally important, yes. But the logical extension of synthetic nature is the irrelevance of ‘true’ nature— the certainty that it’s not even worth looking at. (Louv lines 9-19)

Throughout history, humans have had a strong reliance on nature and their environment. As far back as historians can look, people have depended on elements of nature for their survival. In the past few decades, the increased advancement of technology has led to an unfortunate division between humans and nature, and this lack of respect is becoming a flaw in current day society. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv criticizes modern culture by arguing that humans increasing reliance on technology has led to their decreasing connection with nature through the use of relevant anecdotes, rhetorical questions and powerful imagery to appeal to ethos.

In his 2008 novel, Last Child in the Woods, journalist and natural idealist Richard Louv demonstrates the effect that separation from nature has on children. Using a variety of rhetorical strategies, Louv reminds the different parents, as agree cohort which adapted alongside new technology, of the benefits they received from nature prior to the technological revolution. Louv persuades them to instill an appreciation of the natural world in their children, even if such appreciation deviates from societal norms.

In today’s world, it is often deemed that the younger generation “cannot seem to get off their phone,” that we cannot hold an attention span for longer than thirty seconds without wanting to check our social media or the fact that all of us simply care about technology. In Ursula LeGuin’s short story “Direction of the Road,” LeGuin depicts the life of an oak tree and treats it as if it were a human, giving it thoughts and feelings, and telling an overall story of how it feels ignored; the story progresses to show that the tree then kills a driver when the they collide with the tree. After reading this short passage, one might believe the stigma that the human race of today ignores the importance of nature and pays more attention to technology; however, this is not true for various reasons. Although technology is rapidly advancing in today’s society, we still find the effort to take care and appreciate our environment; this can be seen through the environmental justice movement, the way we strive to make

Authors use different writing techniques in order to convey a message and/or persuade the reader. Rhetorical writing is the art used by authors to influence the audience with the way they play with their words. In the passage from “Last Child in the Woods” by Richard Louv, Louv uses rhetorical strategies such as the structure of his writing, his intelligent use of anecdotes and examples, and his appeal to emotions.

I confess, I all too well know that living in the digital age, I have hindered my opportunities to immerse myself in nature like Henry David Thoreau. There is rarely a day that passes by that I do not use my cell phone or computer. Too often I forget that the outside world is more enigmatic and dynamic than anything that can be found on the computer or in the concrete jungle I enter when I go back home. I crave the mesmerizing and reflective space that nature has always provided since the dawn of time. Nature allows me to feel alone, but also become a part of something at the very same time. Thoreau beautifully claims, “We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all

In this passage from Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv puts a strong emphasis on the increasingly distant relationship between people and nature. Louv uses specific examples to support his argument, as well as imagery, sarcasm and an appeal to ethos and pathos. By using these rhetorical strategies, Louv appeals to his readers and convinces them of his argument.

In Richard Louv's essay titled Last Child in the Woods, he uses many different rhetorical strategies to develop an argument discussing man versus nature. Louv writes about how the world and society change everything and how technology is taking over the world. Louv also mentions about how technology is becoming apart of people daily lives for the good and the bad. Louv presents a strong argument on how this generation is more focused on technology than nature. Louv was able to make strong arguments using many rhetorical devices to help develop his argument discussing the difference with people and nature.

Many people today rely on technology like it is indispensable. The pathetic desire for electronics has consumed how people think and how people live. Richard Louv writes to his generation of the increasing disconnection of humans from nature in his book, Last Child in the Woods. Louv takes a stand against the separation by including personal anecdote, rhetorical questions, and visual imagery.

In the passage extracted from Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv makes use of several rhetorical devices such as: logos and satire, also, he employs kinesthetic imagery; in order to mock the modern day American society, and simultaneously emphasize how young children are being driven away from nature. Louv employs logos when he includes researchers like Matt Ritchel who argue the "countless possibilities [of] moving ads out of the virtual world and into the real one" and he does so in order to exemplify innovative advertising mediums that will keep people engaged with nature. Furthermore, through logos, he also encourages the readers to "respect the cultural importance of using nature as ad space," and also ponder over the idea of synthetic

Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, creates a thought-provoking idea of the separation between people and nature in this excerpt from his book. His opinionated tone forces the reader to be concerned for the future generations by including ironic hyperboles and sarcastic diction, which appeal to the readers’ pathos. He uses these rhetorical strategies to indirectly state his opinions.

In “Last Child in the Woods” the author Richard Louv argues how americans are being separated from nature and why we should stay more involved in nature. He uses several rhetorical strategies to prove his point using imagery and rhetorical questions to convey his message.

People of all ages rely so heavily on technology that they fail to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of nature that surrounds them. In the past few years, technology has become increasingly advanced that people have become dependent on it for almost every aspect of their lives. For instance, people have all the information they can possibly want with just a click of a button. Through Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods, he emphasizes the desperate need for people to stray away from technology and focus on the importance of nature.

The beautiful blossoms that bloom in Californian spring, the summer daisies alongside the cooling lake, long after the summer the trees have lost their leaves entering autumn to fresh white snow out in the mountains. Nature is able to show us its true beauty without any falseness and modifications. After all, is it not ironic how people go to museums to look at paintings of colorful flowers, green hills, and clear water streams; those are beauties that can easily be observed in real life outside of the urban environment which are surrounded by them, or how people buy recordings of the calming sounds of nature, similar to what you would listen to at night in the woods or smell nature aromas of the candles. What we are doing is trying to mislead our minds and pretend to think that we are in the woods but are instead cornered inside our small, well-furnished, and full -with-technology apartment.