Honors Book Review: Wild Trees #4

4.  The book’s structure & rhetorical strategies/style.

How is the book organized?  Which primary rhetorical mode does it employ, and does that mode serve the author’s purpose? How would you define the author’s style?  Which rhetorical choices does the author use often, and are they effective?  Address the author’s point of view (1st, 2nd or 3rd person) as well.

“Redwoods spew pollen from their male cones on sunny days in winter and early spring. One day in January, Marie Antoine was climbing in the Grove of Titans, near the top of the redwood named Sacajawea, and the tree began to feel spring in the air and threw off so much pollen that she began coughing and choking. The air was yellow from the tree's pollen. "Despite its name, Sacajawea seems to be more male than female," Antoine said.”

Chapter: Newfound World. Wild Trees By: Richard Preston, Page 215

Background: Steve Sillet is mapping Atlas Grove with a team of college students and friends. During this section of the story Marie Antoine, his wife, is talking about a redwood they have named Sacajawea. Steve Sillet has found a new ecosystem on the tops of redwoods and this chapter is covering the various plants and animals found in the canopy of the redwoods.

Commentary:

Wild Trees by Richard Preston is a narration story. Preston starts the book off with a new story dealing with the same topic every chapter but as the book goes along all the stories intertwine together to make one big story about the exploring the redwoods of northern California.

Preston writes in a narrative writing style. He connects multiple stories together in chronological order. Wild Trees is a nonfiction book that includes the tales of Michael Taylor, Steve Sillet and many more. Preston talks about a character's experience on the redwoods and then switches to another characters experience. He talks about how the characters climb trees, he goes into detail on how they climb trees along where they get their experience from. He also talks about the ecosystem surrounding the trees. He goes into great detail explaining the the troubles the characters face along with their discoveries. Preston also incorporated the characters personal life within the story about trees.

Prestons main rhetorical choices are definitions and amplification. Preston really likes to talk about one big subject and then continually narrow the subject down as the paragraph keeps going. And then the new paragraph will stay within the topic of the chapter but specify in a different way than the preceding sentence. For example, this chapter is about 3D mapping Atlas Grove and in every paragraph he talks about a new discovery he makes. in one paragraph he is talking about the tree Sacajawea and how its pollen is very noxious. In another paragraph he is talking about a salamander who has no lungs or gills but thrives within the canopy of the redwoods.

Wild Trees is written in third person, talking about a group of character as they explore their ways around the massive trunks of Northren California.