Chief Seattle Essay

737 Words3 Pages
Amy Le (Amanda Tan) Mr. Walsh AP Language and Composition 24 April 2012 In the year of 1855, Chief Seattle wrote a letter to President Pierce regarding how the white man has already and will continue to destroy the land. Chief Seattle believes that man and nature have a congenial relationship, where both sides depends on each other for survival, and the spirit of nature and man will prosper. By appealing to pathos and ethos, contrasting the two different people, and uses rhetorical questions, Chief Seattle attempts to persuade his audience into understanding his core beliefs about man and nature. One prominent stylistic characteristic of the piece is the use of describing what harms the white man has onto the foreign terrain. The author contrasts the white man and Indians to show the different views on how nature should be tended to. Chief Seattle recognized that “the white man does not understand our ways.” With the arrival of the white man, the land has become loud, and the Earth has become his “enemy.” The imperfections that the white man has caused upon the Earth causes them to be blind of what nature has to offer to them, helping them live; mainly feeding and sheltering them. Although, none of that is seen or heard due to the noise and tainted air what the white man has bestowed. Living in a place where even the land has become a rival only creates more disruption, which is what the Indians are trying to prevent. Yet, that is not happening quite well since the white man has claimed his ground, and pushed the native people to the side. Throughout the letter, Chief Seattle continues to point out the white man’s flaws upon arrival and residing in the Indian’s land. The shift in the point of view has the effect of an eye opening thought to the close minded on how the Indians are perceived. In the second paragraph Chief Seattle states “But perhaps
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