Wells Towers's Essay 'The Old Man At Burning Man'

In his essay, “The old Man at Burning Man,” Wells Towers presents several rhetorical “tools,” such as “twist a cliché” and “logic-free values”, to express how his father, his father’s friend, his family and himself attempt to speak their audience’s language (218, 228). This is expressed to the audience through dialogue as Towers references the conversations that took place at the Burning Man festival. In the dialogue, we see all the men, specifically the 69-year-old economics professor, Towers father, adapt very quickly to the “hippie” styled culture of the festival (Towers).

The first example of this is seen when Towers’ father says, “That was a rather unusual toast…She said, ‘Here’s to your hemorrhaging anus.’ And then I gave her a light, and I said, ‘The better to see it with’” (Towers). Here Towers’ father uses the tool “twist a cliché.” Towers’ father fits into the culture by replying with a witty response. He participates in the cultural “gifting” by giving the woman a flash light and speaks the language of his audience by using the rhetorical tool described above (Towers). The reader can see that Towers’ father is unsure of how to respond in this

situation, however he risks not fitting in by trying out his witty remark with the woman. Because the woman did not shame him or respond negatively, he achieved his goal of assimilating to the culture.
Another example where we see Towers’ father fitting in is when he uses “logic-free values.” During a conversation between Towers and his father, his father says, “I just ask them, yeah.

My first thought was to do it surreptitiously, but then I discovered that tattooed naked boobs like to be photographed” (Towers). Here the reader identifies “logic-free values.” If the reader were to say this out loud and quickly, they probably would not think much of the comment made by Towers’ father. However, being able to read it, the reader sees the ridiculousness of the statement and recognizes the rhetorical tool. Towers’ father risked being slapped in the face by directly asking women if he could photograph them nude; however, do to the use of “logic-free values” he could do so and fit into the festival’s

culture.
This was a very interesting essay that was filled with “code grooming” to speak the language if the audience. According to the tools presented by Heinrichs, Towers and his companions did a good job of assimilating to the culture.