Contemporary writer, John M Barry, in his passage from Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, seeks to communicate the extraordinarily perplexing river that has a life of it’s own. Barry illustrates the incomprehensibility and lifelikeness of the Mississippi, and how that makes it so alluring, by establishing it as far superior to all other rivers. Barry opens by contrasting the views of other credible intellectuals in stating his fascination with the mechanics of the river. His initial two paragraphs fail to identify the Mississippi River itself, but hint at the rivers magnificence by mentioning its “turbulent effects” and “river hydraulics.” Barry continues to awe his audience with extensive discussion of all its velocities …show more content…
that are affected by “friction or the lack of friction with the air, the riverbank, the riverbed.” His examination of the Mississippi, through physics and dynamics, presents a different perspective on the river, extending beyond the usual idea that it is just a body of water flowing through the country. Henceforth, Barry furthers his presentation by finally revealing that the Mississippi is the river he previously described. He proceeds to explain that “engineering theories and techniques that apply to other rivers, even such major rivers as the Po, the Rhine, the Missouri...simply do not work on the lower Mississippi.” Barry’s fascination with the river comes from the bewildering fact that it’s science is greater than any understandable natural phenomena. Towards the middle of the passage, Barry shifts from the science of the river, to explicitly addressing the life-like qualities it possesses.
Barry defines the Mississippi’s unpredictability through an “uncoiling rope.” One cannot experience an act such as that of an uncoiling rope, in it’s smooth, but quick movements. Its destination cannot be anticipated and its course of action can only be speculated. By using a single phrase, like “uncoiling rope,” Barry guides his audience to a complete picture of the fascinating Mississippi. He gives life to the Mississippi by relating it to a snake. His snake-related diction, such as “roils” and “uncoiling” present the river with lifelike qualities that extend Barry’s purpose in saying that the incredible river can actually stand on it’s own. Furthermore, Barry describes the river in similes in order to compare the Mississippi to a snake, in a sense of both power and grace. The river “devours itself”, “sucking” at the surface around it, and “scouring out holes” in its depths. Barry’s combination of personifying diction and similes provide his audience with a relation in which one understands the Mississippi’s paradox of strength and unpredictability, and
grace. Barry closes his argument with the implication that there is always more to discover. His explanation that there is “still further force and complexity” leaves the audience with a sense of curiosity about this extensive, complicated river; however, there is always more to observe and understand. Barry concludes that his fascination with the Mississippi comes from, not only the science and life of it, but the idea that there is still so much unknown.
In Joseph Boydens short story “Abitibi Canyon”, the narrator is the mother of Remi, a child with a mental disability. They live in a reserve where the people argue about the construction of a dam in their river. She is against it because it will ruin the place where she likes to camp with her Shirley, Mary and Suzanne. The way she sees the dam is an important image. She pictures it as a “concrete monster lying in our river and controlling it like some greedy giant” (364). The dam will ruin a place that has a lot of personal significance to her.
To continue, Wigmore develops his argument by looking at the multiple tensions that existed on both sides of the river. In one way, Wigmore paints the positive picture that these b...
As I looked out the window of the restaurant, I could see the sun bouncing off the sparkling water below. Boats and other water craft scatter the water as well as people on water-skis and inner tubes. The picturesque view makes life seem so much better and just looking at the river makes a person calmer. The scene just described is the view from the window of a restaurant called Sophia in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the corresponding river is the mighty Mississippi. Although Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, this scene could be found right here in the valley of Phoenix. The way this is possible is through the Rio Salado Project.
The following essay being summarized and analyzed, “The Inheritance of Tools” by Scott Russell Sanders was originally published in The North American Review in 1986 and later selected by Gay Talese for The Best American Essays in 1987. This essay chronicles the story of the author learning about his father’s death in which he is quickly reminded of the tools and techniques he learned from his father which was passed down through multiple generations. I will discuss the themes portrayed by the author as well as the organization and connections between ideas, and transitions within the text.
Dave Barry’s “Road Warrior” is a humorous essay that discusses different types of “rages” that exists on a daily basis in American life. Barry begins by discussing road rage then goes into parking lot rage, and shopping cart rage. He explains that these rages are unnecessary, and how they just create violence in the world today. While Barry was writing this article he was living in Miami, Florida discussing the problems of road rage in the city. If anyone has ever felt road rage, or any kind of rage this is for you.
In a passage from his book, Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, author John M. Barry makes an attempt use different rhetorical techniques to transmit his purpose. While to most, the Mississippi River is only some brown water in the middle of the state of Mississippi, to author John M. Barry, the lower Mississippi is an extremely complex and turbulent river. John M. Barry builds his ethos, uses elevated diction, several forms of figurative language, and different styles of syntax and sentence structure to communicate his fascination with the Mississippi River to a possible audience of students, teachers, and scientists.
The bubbling pool of acid: Acidification most disastrous event in the history of our planet
Scientists are constantly forced to test their work and beliefs. Thus they need the ability to embrace the uncertainty that science is based on. This is a point John M. Barry uses throughout the passage to characterize scientific research, and by using rhetorical devices such as, comparison, specific diction, and contrast he is able show the way he views and characterizes scientific research.
In “Ask Me” by William Stafford, Stafford uses tone,idiom, and symbolism to explain why thought his life was like a river. William Stafford uses the river to help him be able to answer any questions people might have for him.
Eiseley, Loren “The Flow of the River” from Fifty Great Essays 2nd ed. 2002 Penguin Academics New York.
The fallout of the 1927 flood demonstrates the one of many continuing struggle in dominating the Mississippi River despite understanding the true nature of the river. For example, “The average gauge readings through the last three months of 1926… of the three largest rivers… was the highest ever known… no one at the Weather Bureau or the Mississippi River Commission correlated or even compiled this information” (pg 175). The failure in understand the nature of the river prelude to more elaborate control schemes by expanding the federal government’s responsibility in seizing full control of the Mississippi River from states jurisdiction. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers is fully responsible in constructing va...
The historian Richard White states the Columbia River, located in the states of Washington and Oregon in the Northwest portion of the United States, as an Organic Machine made by arguments that the habitat established by the environment dictates the survival of mankind. It was previously assumed that mankind dictates the laws of its existence and that the environment is simply a small obstacle that can be overcome. Richard White proves former beliefs about the relationship between mankind and its environment or habitat untrue through the book The Organic Machine by showing the reader why the Columbia River is a perfect example of an organic machine, how organic machines affect lives and different civilizations, and how the alterations that mankind makes can effect the river as a whole.
This article by Greg Braxton gives us his thoughts on the change that “Black Lightning”, will bring to the television universe by telling us that this show will focus on the problems that many African Americans are facing today. Braxton appeals to the rhetorical device of pathos and he appeals to the emotions of the audience by saying, “This is personal to me,” this essay will be him appealing to the audience about why this essay is important to him, and that this show will be a change to most who watch the CW network. This article tells of the story of Pierce an African American who wants to make a difference in his community by, “combatting racist cops and a violent gang,” and this show is bringing to the attention the issues that face many
The Los Angeles River is a look into what the future holds for the Umpqua River. Heilman’s son asks what “the big concrete thing,” is while flying to Los Angeles and to his disbelief is that the Los Angeles River was a river, especially when the river looked like a storm drain (Paragraph 6-7). Later the Umpqua River is described to have creeks that have so much debris removed from them that the creeks are no different from concrete
In “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, the river stands as a symbol of endlessness, geographical awareness, and the epitome of the human soul. Hughes uses the literary elements of repetition and simile to paint the river as a symbol of timelessness. This is evident in the first two lines of the poem. Hughes introduces this timeless symbol, stating, “I've known rivers: I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins” (Hughes 1-2). These opening lines of the poem identifies that the rivers Hughes is speaking about are older than the existence of human life. This indicates the rivers’ qualities of knowledge, permanence, and the ability to endure all. Humans associate “age” with these traits and the longevity of a river makes it a force to be reckoned with. The use of a simile in the line of the poem is to prompt the audience that this is truly a contrast between that ancient wisdom, strength, and determination of the river and the same qualities that characterize a human being. The imagery portrayed in the poem of blood flowing through human veins like a river flows ...