Last Child in the Woods Response (Rhetorical Devices)

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Critical and disappointed, Richard Louv’s passage from Last Child in the Woods -- by the use of rhetoric -- criticizes the fact that as time passes, people become more and more consumed in technology and commercialism instead of opening their eyes wide enough to experience the true majesty and beauty of nature, neglecting and exploiting it instead of appreciating it for what it is. As Louv begins in his passage, he explains how advertising has commenced its migration from its virtual home and into the real world -- the real world now beginning to be shadowed by a synthetic one -- with modified butterflies carrying name brands on their wings and beaches being tainted with product logos on its sandy shores in order for corporations to leech out a profit. Although Louv mentions that he does understand the cultural importance of business, these alterations of nature are ungodly and indecent. According to said companies, the “sheer popularity of stimulating nature” has gone too far in its progress to stop or slow down -- in other words, as Louv states, the nature environment is simply “not worth looking at” anymore. The business world may be a big obstacle when it comes to appreciating the natural world, but Louv mentions another troublesome hurdle that distracts mankind’s eyes from it -- technology. Louv describes on how all of the new arising of technology is yet another hampering bump in the road to viewing the real world -- in this case, the new age over-accessorized vehicles that everyone seems to get their hands on. To explain why, Louv uses an anecdote about a friend of his who was shopping for a new SUV. This story unmasks the truth behind the real purpose of the new car tech -- to provide entertainment for children with the help of “backseat monitors” and other “multimedia entertainment products” for parents to purchase for their vehicles. These add-ons

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