The Devil'S Highway

771 Words4 Pages
The Devil’s Highway Luis Alberto Urrea traces the journeys of twenty-six men traveling across the border through one of the most treacherous deserts known to man “The Devil’s Highway.” The authors soul purpose was to us think and be aware of the events going on all around. With the simple modes of persuasion (pathos, ethos, and logos) Urrea makes you consider what worlds, political and economic, have we created that push humans into impossible journeys? What borders have we imposed, both geopolitical and cultural, that separate human beings so completely? The author’s narrative, ripe with horrifying descriptions, is nonetheless told with compassion appealing to the emotions of the audience in the argument. The greater part of the book follows these men on their unlucky journey through the desert, and how each one is drained of their money, water, hopes and dreams, and for some, life. The author uses compelling descriptions; the taste of urine, the sight of mummified corpses, and the anguish of losing one's son are all strikingly portrayed. The reader finds themselves horrified each time death reaches another victim of the Devil’s Highway, forcing you to think about the family waiting in Mexico dreaming of a better life. At the beginning of the book Urrea lists the possessions of the dead (John Doe # 37: no effects, John Doe # 44: Mexican bills in back pocket, a letter in right front pocket, a brown wallet in left front pocket) these specifics provided are emotional responses to give the readers every last detail of the man and his possessions. Another technique Urrea uses that affects the audiences emotions is grammatical person, Urrea often switches into second-person point-of-view so the reader imagines that he or she is going through the stages of hypothermia. “Your muscles, lacking water, feed on themselves. They break down and start to rot. Once rotting in
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