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A Walk In The Woods And Barry Bryson's An Entrance To The Woods

Decent Essays

Through literary and rhetorical devices, every piece of writing has the ability to portray a message, with Wendell Berry’s essay An Entrance to the Woods and Barry Bryson’s novel A Walk in the Woods being no different. Both of these stories recall an experience in nature, though the presentation of each differs quite a bit. Through the use of literary and rhetorical devices, Berry and Bryson differ in their use of creating an image and setting up a mood; however, the theme of each story imitate each other, as ways to escape society exist, but no matter how far someone walks into the woods, civilization resides in their mind. In an environment as beautiful as nature, a vivid image of the sight simply assumes itself in a piece of writing. …show more content…

Undoubtedly, each of these writers approach their experience in nature differently, with largely contrasting atmospheres and moods. Berry sets the mood in his piece as disconsolate and lonesome. After setting up camp, Berry sits on a rock at the edge of the stream and says, “a heavy feeling of melancholy and lonesomeness comes over me. This does not surprise me, for I have felt it before when I have been alone at evening in wilderness places that I am not familiar with” (Berry 719). He goes on to prove “the sense of impending human catastrophe” by evoking emotion, as the idea of humans’ unfamiliarity with nature rises in his piece (Berry 275). Berry describes his surroundings with nostalgic and melancholic qualities, which produces a darker mood and a somber layer to his expedition. In opposition to Berry’s piece, Bryson’s greater intent in writing his story involves triggering some laughs. Bryson contributes to a more upbeat and sarcastic mood, best displayed in a conversation Mary Ellen has with Katz and Bryson along the Appalachian trail. When Mary Ellen asks the two men what their star sign is, Katz replies with “cunnilingus,” and Bryson “necrophilia” (Bryson 240). Simply the way characters speak to each other gives insight on the mood of the piece, for it expands from the eloquence of most transcendental writing. Katz and Bryson

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