The American Indian Wilderness
In the essay, “The American Indian Wilderness”, Louis Owens presents a personal story to show a dramatic change in his point of view. His story revolves around a mind-altering experience in which he uses himself as the straw figure, allowing us to effectively see how he came to choose his new view and why it is better than the European view he once had. He successfully gains our trust and persuades his audience with three different personas: the unthinking, cocky businessman, the thoughtful and ashamed persona, and, at the end, the lecturing teacher. In the beginning, Owens uses the persona of the unthinking, cocky businessman. He is in the mountains to support and carry out “a plan of which [he] heartily approves.” (para.2) He is at the extreme end of his way of thinking, believing that the Forest Service is right in their idea about wilderness. “At the end of those five days, not a trace of the shelter remained, and I felt good, very smug in fact, about returning the White Pass meadow to it’s “original” state.” (para.3) He shows us that he has no doubts and completely agrees that in order to restore the wilderness, he must carry out the plan. As he heads back down the trail, he says that his, “mind was on the winter [he] was g
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Peak Wilderness, White Pass, Im Indian, Pass Owens, Louis Owens, Pass Shelter, Unless Americans, Forest Service, Effectively Owens, white pass, lecturing teacher, cocky businessman, , unthinking cocky businessman, persona lecturing, carry plan, owens effectively, doing whats, unthinking cocky, effectively personas, ashamed thoughtful persona, persona lecturing teacher, owens effectively personas, draws story,
Approximate Word count = 1449
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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