Review Of Richard Louv 's Last Child On The Woods ( 2008 )

Like mentioned in the reading, “The depiction of nature in advertising disconnects and estranges us from what is valued, and we attempt to reconnect through products, creating a circular consumption.” Moreover, the media is the

Throughout history, humans have had a strong reliance on nature and their environment. As far back as historians can look, people have depended on elements of nature for their survival. In the past few decades, the increased advancement of technology has led to an unfortunate division between humans and nature, and this lack of respect is becoming a flaw in current day society. In Last Child in the Woods, Louv criticizes modern culture by arguing that humans increasing reliance on technology has led to their decreasing connection with nature through the use of relevant anecdotes, rhetorical questions and powerful imagery to appeal to ethos.

As stated in the Article written by Louv, a man named Matt Richtel said this of nature, "Sponsorship-wise, it's time for nature to carry its weight." While this statement already shows a hint of a somehow attained ownership of nature, it also shows us that while taking advantage of the planet we live on. People like Matt believe the earth owes us something, and Louv shows this by completely taking his idea that simulation "true" nature in a synthetic manner is a waste of time even viewing. By taking Richtel's so called "brave new" advertisement idea, he completely renders the complete idea of it moot with this one idea of

Over time technology has become a big part of society, it has been woven into our everyday lives. It has become such a need it’s hard to go on with the day without it, the youth of today might of as well been born with a phone in their hand. Richard Louv argues the separation between nature and people using literary devices of anecdote, pathos, and imagery. He seems to depict present and future time to be one of solely technology and “synthetic nature” where nature is not appreciated anymore. Louv’s tone is objective and personal when talking about the separation of people and nature.

Many see the grass of yesterday as greener. This is the case with Richard Louv in his work Lost Child in the Woods where he believes that today’s society is too removed from nature and too obsessed with technology. Louv claims that as the world becomes increasingly influenced by technology the “true nature” is less valued than it was with previous eras. He successfully uses rhetorical techniques in order to accomplish his purpose of criticizing the people of today for distancing themselves from the natural world.

In his book, Last Child in the Woods (2008), Richard Louv illustrates his distaste for the widening divide between man and nature by his use of exemplification, narration and hypophora. Louv’s purpose for writing this book is to inform the audience that mankind should change its ways and move towards a lifestyle that is more appreciative of its surroundings. Louv uses a frustrated tone to invoke the feeling of guilt within the reader because they are responsible for making humanity unappreciative of nature.

Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, creates a thought-provoking idea of the separation between people and nature in this excerpt from his book. His opinionated tone forces the reader to be concerned for the future generations by including ironic hyperboles and sarcastic diction, which appeal to the readers’ pathos. He uses these rhetorical strategies to indirectly state his opinions.

Throughout today’s society there are several different cultural perspectives which form theoretical and practical understandings of natural environments, creating various human-nature relationship types. In this essay, I will describe and evaluate different ways of knowing nature and the impact of these views on human-nature relationships. From this, I will then explore my own human-nature relationship and reflect on how my personal experiences, beliefs and values has led me to this view, whilst highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each and reflecting upon Martin’s (1996) continuum.

Nature is not altered by humanity and instead is pure, creating inspiration for people to be original. Nature is “the greatest delight which the fields and woods minister, in the suggestion of an occult relation between man and the vegetable” (Nature 221). People who believe in transcendence see the importance

The beautiful blossoms that bloom in Californian spring, the summer daisies alongside the cooling lake, long after the summer the trees have lost their leaves entering autumn to fresh white snow out in the mountains. Nature is able to show us its true beauty without any falseness and modifications. After all, is it not ironic how people go to museums to look at paintings of colorful flowers, green hills, and clear water streams; those are beauties that can easily be observed in real life outside of the urban environment which are surrounded by them, or how people buy recordings of the calming sounds of nature, similar to what you would listen to at night in the woods or smell nature aromas of the candles. What we are doing is trying to mislead our minds and pretend to think that we are in the woods but are instead cornered inside our small, well-furnished, and full -with-technology apartment.

In the essay, “Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp”, Joy Williams argues that people have reduced the valuable experiences provided by nature through simplification and domestication. Williams writes, “The tiny masters are willing to arrange Nature for you. They will compose it into a picture that you can look at at your leisure...Nature becomes scenery, a prop.” William’s claim that human intervention minimizes nature to a superficial background is inaccurate because intervention allows increased utilization, involvement, and accessibility.

Similar to Cronon’s Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature, Evernden discusses the concept of nature in today’s society and the impacts of mixing meanings of the term nature. Evernden begins by elaborating on the term nature and using the concept of nature to support contrasting ideas. The author continues by philosophically analyzing two questions about nature: What does the word nature mean? What is nature? Evernden then discusses several definitions and understandings of the term nature. A few of the definitions of nature mentioned are as follows: nature meaning kind; nature as a danger; nature as an assertion of relationships. He relates these concepts to the term phusis, and then goes into detail about the Greek origins

Technology throughout the past 30-40 years has become more advanced and accessible than ever. The television specifically has developed extremely since its beginning. What started off as a single camera caption, has developed into a full fledge worldwide availability. Within the United States, the TV is a normal everyday object common in households, hotels, schools, and even restaurants. There are approximately 118.4 million household in the United States that own a television set ( The Number of TV Households in the United States from season 2000-2001 to season 2016-2017 (in millions)).However, the increased amount of time spent watching TV has had a tremendous impact on people, especially kids. The differences in generations throughout the development of the TV has led to many questions, all revolving around whether or not the televisions has had a good or negative impact pertaining to children. Time spent watching television affects the brain, ability to learn, and skill levels in different areas (source. In the book “Last Child in The Woods,” Richard Louv discusses how children in the 1940’s would watch out the window at the scenery and have conversations, while children now sit and watch a movie on a flip-down video screen without knowledge to the outside world (Louv 16-17).

Unfortunately there are consequences that arise when a consumer has been greenwashed. These consequences are that consumers ultimately spend more money on products that they believe stand true, and when purchasing these products the consumer is supporting companies that are harming the environment. Downing et al. states that, “learning how to read advertising critically thus provides individuals with important tools for interpreting contemporary American culture and avoiding manipulation. Ads are complex texts, the images, words, framing devices, and

In Nature & Landscape: An Introduction to Environmental Aesthetics, Allen Carlson proposes that scientific knowledge can enhance our aesthetic appreciation of the natural world. He draws a connection between technical know-how used in the context of natural landscapes and art history or criticism in the context of conventional art forms. In either case, the viewer would find relatively more meaningful experiences of aesthetic appreciation than if one looked at a painting or landscape without any prior knowledge about it. Carlson endorses this point within his larger Natural Environmental Model, which asserts that though the environment is not entirely of our creation, it does not mean that we have to approach it without any prior understanding.