Rhetorical Reading Essay

Joshua Stonehocker

Steven Gibson

English 1010 046

March 28th, 2005

Rhetorical Reading Essay(Revision)

Since they started pouring the concrete for the dam Lake Powell has been a center of controversy. From nature preservationists to ancient ruins advocates the subject has been heated and intense. On the other hand, those who support Lake Powell are just as avid and active in their defense of the reservoir. One of the former, Edward Abbey, sets forth his plea, hoping it does not fall upon deaf ears.

Abbey attempts in his article to help the reader visualize Glen Canyon before it was dammed up. He uses a lot of pathos to help the reader “feel” the beauty of the previous Glen Canyon and the ugliness of the present. His article seems to be written not to the supporters of Lake Powell, but to those who side with Abbey, perhaps in an attempt to strengthen their resolve to do something about their beliefs. Abbey advocates the draining and naturalizing of the reservoir, allowing it to regress back to its natural state. Although the author is very talented at using connotations and figurative language, he focuses too much on pathos and a 20th century view of nature and lacks sufficient logos and ethos.

This essay while very passionate is poorly done. The author, Edward Abbey, admits that he is a “butterfly chaser, googly eyed bleeding heart and wild conservative”(Abbey, 144). His constant appeals to nostalgia and tree hugging are repetitive and long-winded. However, as mentioned above, he is an expert in figurative language and connotation. Right from the beginning Abbey uses a great metaphor comparing Glen Canyon to the living heart of the canyon lands, and throws in another about the Colorado River being golden. He tries to form a beautiful picture of what Glen Canyon used to be like by sharing an experience that he and a buddy had almost 50 years ago. Although picturesque and ideal, we all understand that change is a natural part of both mankind and nature and that all things have an end.

Later in the article Abbey uses more great connotations and points out that the reservoir has had negative effects on the environment in that area. “…Debris brought down into them by desert storms, no longer carried away by the river, must unavoidably build up in the area where flood meets reservoir”(147). And later, “Anyone who has tried to pilot a motorboat through a raft of half-sunken logs and bloated dead cows will have his own thoughts on the accessibility of these waters” (Abbey, 147). These effects are perfectly normal when working with a reservoir and as he points out are not permanent. “Sodden garbage strewn about, dead trees, sunken boats, the skeletons of long-forgotten, decomposing water-skiers;”(147) These are all attempts to bring the reservoir in a negative light but these do not come from the reservoir but from careless patrons and the inevitable accidents. If the number of people who visited Lake Powell visited the former Glen Canyon area, the garbage and deaths and other negative aspects would be at the same ratio because some humans are simply careless and draining a reservoir is not going to change that.

Often times Abbey tries to appeal to our emotions through connotation and metaphors by creating a picture perfect image of what Glen Canyons used to be like with its varied flora and fauna and beautiful landscape. Unfortunately this attempt is flawed because anyone who has ever been to Lake Powell or seen pictures knows that it is equally as beautiful as and maybe even more so than the common river and surrounding landscape scene.