Characteristics of the text
When analyzing a non-fiction text it is important to look at the way the sender presents his/her arguments, including aspects related to language, forms of appeal, and rhetorical devices. Here are the main characteristics of the essay “Nature and the City” by Eric Hoffer.
Open argumentation
To support one’s views, writers can use either open or hidden argumentation. Open argumentation means the writer presents his points directly, while in hidden argumentation they are conveyed indirectly (through examples, facts, etc.). For the most part, “Nature and the City” is structured using direct (open) argumentation.
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Rhetorical devices
Rhetorical devices are defined as techniques used to convey meaning with the goal of persuading readers. The main rhetorical devices used by Hoffer in “Nature and the City” are repetition, enumerations, and sarcasm and irony.
In the first paragraphs, the writer uses frequently the personal pronoun “I”, a repetition used to persuade readers of the value of his personal experience. Furthermore, the repetition of the phrase “I knew” reinforces the writer’s authority with regards to the topic of his essay: “For 18 years as a migratory farm worker and placer miner, I knew nature at close quarters. Nature was breathing down my neck, and I knew it did not like me.” (p. 211, ll. 1-3); “I knew with every fiber of my being that the city is man’s only home on this planet…” (p. 211, ll. 13-14)
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Forms of appeal
The main forms of appeal authors use to persuade readers to accept their views are pathos (emotional language), logos (logical reasoning) and ethos (appeal to ethics derived from common values). All these forms of appeal are identifiable in Hoffer’s essay.
Firstly, Hoffer builds his credibility by using ethos. He appeals to the common experiences of working men when he presents his own experience “as a migratory farm worker and place miner” (p. 211, l. 1). Hoffer then builds his credibility among the educated through references to artists and poets: “Shakespeare’s London and Rembrandt’s Amsterdam” (p. 212, ll. 2-3), and “Wordsworth, Shelly, Tennyson” (p. 12, l. 23).
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Choice of words
The writer’s choice of words reflects the topic of the essay. On the one hand, the author includes many words which belong to the semantic field of the natural world. On the other hand, he also includes words related to human culture; references to cities, art, and literature.
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Figurative language
Eric Hoffer also uses figurative language in this essay, particularly when he is talking about nature. The writer uses personification when he talks about nature: “Nature was breathing down my neck, and I knew it did not like me.” (p. 211, ll. 1-3), or “nature’s terrible visitations and her massacre of the innocents” (p. 212, ll. 16-17).
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