The Sense Of Place Rhetorical Analysis

In modern day America, our culture has begun to revolve around traveling and moving from place to place. Never staying in one place long enough to get to know the land. It is because of this new trend that Wallace Stegner wrote his essay "The Sense of Place." In this essay, Stegner informs us that the only way for us to feel a sense of place is for us to submit ourselves to the land; he does this using many techniques such as: figurative language, use of a personal anecdote, and the use of second person. He begins the essay in a rather peculiar manner stating a quote by Wendell Berry, "If you don't know where you are you don't know who you are" (Stegner 199). It is somewhat strange that he would begin his essay with someone else's quote,
but for this piece it works because even after completing the first sentence the essay has already established a personal connection with the reader. By using the word, "you" Stegner gives the reader the sense that he is talking to them. The quote itself while catchy might also be deemed offensive to some, so Stegner is also putting himself at risk of losing readers because they do not like what his first sentence has to say. There is also another instance of Stegner using second person, at the very end of the essay. Here the word is used as, "we" instead of "you." It is at this point when he is dictating his opinion on what we as Americans should do, "it is probably time we looked around us instead of looking ahead. We have no business, any longer, in being impatient with history" (Stegner 206). It is easy to see why he switched the words because by using the word we, he includes himself rather than putting all of the blame and work on the shoulders of the reader. It is interesting to see that the only times Stegner chose to use the second person is at the very beginning and the very end. He first used it to entice the reader and personalize his essay, and then ended it with his opinion on how "we" need to slow down and submit ourselves to the land. Another technique Stegner throws into his essay is the use of figurative language such as similes and metaphors.
He talks about people's roots how migrants have a hard time planting them in a new place, saying, "these migrants drag their exposed roots and have trouble putting them down in new places" (Stegner 200). He uses this to argue his point that people should stay put for a while and let their roots grow and become planted before picking up and moving again. However, he goes on to say that, "some people don't want to put [their roots] down… The American home is often a mobile home" (Stegner 200-201). Our way of life is one where we are restless and "hooked on change" (Stegner 204). Americans enjoy the constant change of scenery and do not mind that our roots never take hold in the soil, as Stegner wants us to do. We just pick up and move, never allowing ourselves to get to know the land on which we lived or are living. He then makes a comparison of a "displaced person" and a river's current, saying, "[A displaced person] has a current like the Platte, a mile wide and an inch deep" (Stegner 200). A displaced person moves quickly like the river current, though never stays in one place for a long time, similarly to the inch of water skimming over the rocks. Stegner goes on to say that the displaced person is, "acquainted with many places, [but] is rooted in none" (Stegner 200). The person does not believe he is lacking anything. On the contrary, he is content
with his rootlessness and embraces it. The third technique that Stegner uses which is unique is the constant allusions to other pieces of literary works such as Thoreau, Frost, Steinbeck, etc.
All of these men are prominent iv the literary society, one wanders if there is a reason for Stegner to include them in his essay other then to strengthen his argument. I believe he added many to boost his ranking and status among his readers. There is a small community of authors who write about nature and likewise the community of readers is about the same size. Therefore, it makes sense that Stegner used Thoreau's highly known name to increase the validity and importance of his essay. Same with the way he used Robert Frost's quote, "The land was ours before we were the lands" (Stegner 206) to sum up his essay. He is taking a poem by Robert Frost, a world-renowned poet, and adding it to the end of his essay. It does fit in nicely, but I feel there is also another motive, to gain more respect from his
readers. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this piece of writing, and I personally enjoyed the opening quote. Although at first it perplexed me, after re-reading it several times, I came to understand and agree with what Berry was trying to say. I also really liked how Stegner used second person to develop a personal connection with me, and how at the end he includes himself in saying that that we do need to change the way we live. After reading this essay for the first time, my initial reaction was big deal just another "tree-hugger," but then I started thinking about what he actually was saying, and I obtained a better sense of what he was trying to convey to his readers. That if we all settle down, move slower, and submit ourselves to the land we can all obtain a sense of place and a sustainable relationship with nature.