Preserving The Wilderness Rhetorical Analysis

Also, it seems Stegner knows what humans need even though they are continuously unaware. “We need to demonstrate our acceptance of the natural world” (Stegner 406). Our job as Americans is to show how we care for the wilderness so that it might transfer these same feelings to different continents and cultures. If Americans abandon nature, so will every country who respects and models after us. The use of pathos throughout Stegner’s essay pleas with the reader to preserve and revive the wilderness for the benefit of humanity.

Typically, the reason to preserve the wilderness is for a use that is immediately beneficial to the human race. Things like saving animals, cleaner water, and healthier food are the most common benefits of preserving

the wild. However, the wilderness “idea” mentioned by Stegner addresses a bigger picture that causes a bigger impact. While some wilderness uses can temporarily aid problems we face, the wilderness idea is meant to change how humans view nature as a whole, and it can change how people view life.

The wilderness idea takes into account that the wilderness is often persecuted for insignificant gains. The story mentions how trees are cut down to later become comic books or cigarette boxes, which are thrown into the garbage can moments after use. Surely better uses could be found for the very things that provide life to the human race. I agree with this view because I love being in nature. It always teaches me something that man-made things cannot. Being in the wilderness is one of the only places where I experience true silence, especially in the winter when there are no bugs. Silence is one of the most significant reasons as to why I support this view, because true silence dies with true wilderness. Stegner’s reasons for the preservation of the wilderness revolve around the idea that we must keep nature around because without it we could lose our sanity or even forget about it. He talks about how if humans destroy the last of the American wilderness, the only remnants we will still obtain are the animals who have been bound to the zoo. Jesus said that humans are supposed to use all the earth to our benefit, including killing animals to eat, but destroying the wilderness for almost

no reason is a different story. To me, this is simply degrading to the earth that God has created, and I am against it. Killing animals for food and destroying an animals habitat are two very different things. The reason people “flee” to the country in desperation is because the human race was made for nature. For so long, there were cities and towns, but they relied on all natural foods and materials, but in the last century or so, humans have become more reliant on more artificial objects like electricity and processed foods. While many live dependent on these things, every person reaches a limit, and at some point people need a retreat out to the original world to which we were called. This is why many people seek to move away from populated areas into the quiet countryside.