3. The author’s persona, tone, and intended audience Which persona does the author adopt? How does the author manipulate tone to serve his/her purpose? Who is the intended audience for this book? How does the author tailor his/her argument to suit the intended audience?
“He was a man who could find beauty in the small, hidden places that still existed on earth, the lost places that nobody had ever noticed. Michael was the stubbornest person she had ever known. He bore a resemblance to the great explorers who had lived in the earlier ages, and had been convinced that there was something wonderful still to be found on the earth.”
Chapter: Into the Groves of the Sun. Wild Trees By: Richard Preston, Page 88.
Background:
Conni Metcalf, Michael Taylor’s girlfriend, is reflecting on who her boyfriend is. Conni is reflecting on his personality and why she is madly in love with him. She is also coming to a conclusion that she does not love Michael for the things she thought she loved about him but rather she loves the passion he has towards trees.
Commentary:
Richard Preston has been able to capture the life of Michael Taylor. Preston is able to illustrate Michael's personal life along with his scientific life. Preston does a good job describing Michael’s world as if the reader were seeing it from Michael’s point of view. The reader is able to understand Michael’s thinking process through the words of Preston. Preston does a very good job in having the reader appreciate the same qualities of trees as Michael does. Also Preston is able to create the same sense of awe as Michael feels through powerful imagery. He is able to do this by describing the and listing facts on the redwoods trees. I believe that Preston has visited the park himself and in doing so he is able to recreate what he saw in the eyes of Michael. Richard Preston is able to personally relate to all the things Michael did during this time and because of that Preston is able to manipulate the audience to feel the same things he did. Preston has created a sense of wonder and mystery surrounding the redwoods and he has used this tone to engage the reader. He has been able to depict the world Michael saw.
I believe that the intended audience is a biologist who is interested in trees, specifically the redwoods of Northern California. I also believe that this book is meant to be read by a reader who enjoys reading about a world we have never discovered. I personally choose this book because I have visited the park and I want to learn more about it. I wanted to learn about the ecosystem along with the history of the park.
Preston has set up this book as two stories intertwined with each other. I believe in the end both stories will match up and become a one story based on a single love of the trees in Northern California.
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