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

Richard Louv, in his book Last Child in the Woods, emphasizes the fact that as time goes on, it drives a wedge between people and nature which leads them to separate further apart. To support his argument, Louv uses specific examples like literary devices of imagery, story and dialogue reference, and an appeal to ethos and pathos. The passage’s main purpose is for Louv to be more connected with nature like the old days, but what’s getting in the way is the rapid advancement of technology as time moves on, giving him no other choice but to make an attempt to educate older generations on ways they can let their children live a life like how they, themselves, used to. Louv includes parts in his passage appealing to ethos, giving logic and factual
Though this may not seem like it relates to the nature vs human topic of the writing, Louv further connects it with Matt Richtel’s announcement in 2002 of ‘conjuring a brave new advertising medium’: “There are countless possibilities for moving ads out of the virtual world and into the real one. Sponsorship wise, it’s time for nature to carry its weight” (Louv 4-9). By giving these facts, Louv is making an appropriate opening to his upcoming argument that feeds into the debate of techno reality and life reality. In another example, when discussing how children no longer look out the car window when their parents drive them somewhere, the author explains how expensive technology is to entertain children. Additionally, Louv includes the price of a Mercedes SUV in reference to a story from his friend: “Rear seat and in-dash “multimedia entertainment products,” as they are called, are quickly becoming the hottest add-on since rearview mirror fuzzy dice” (Louv 33-36) and the additional luxuries to prove how people use technology to avoid