Assignment #4

Peter Chilcott

Sheri Hood

The desert is viewed by many as inhospitable, barren and with nothing to offer. These "many" however seldom view the desert from any perspective other than from the inside of a car or from infront of a television set. The three texts, "Introduction", "The Hot Spring" and "The Wind", all by Barry Lopez shows us the perspective of the few who took the time to get out of the car and away from technology. In "The Hot Spring", Lopez uses very descriptive and sensory language to involve the reader in a unique experience with the desert. Lopez’s use of third person perspectives and detailed figurative language is again utilized in the text, "The Wind". "The Wind" uses a more sensual and intimate approach as opposed to the feeling of reverence "The Hot Spring" conveys. The "Introduction" utilizes a series of humorous antics by the author to show the reader the true scope of the desert. These texts describe the desert from separate perspectives yet use language, a personal experience and tone to paint a picture of the desert as seen by any whom wish to experience it fully.

An experience is described in each of the texts, each involving different people in a variety of places within the desert. In this manner the desert is described through the interaction of the people with the environment. The "Introduction" describes Lopez himself driving across a desert plain and through narrating his activities he depicts the desert sheer size. "and rode north furiously until the vehicle was a speck on the horizon"(Lopez, Introduction, 8). In "The Hot Spring, the journey of a n old man is described as he drives from his home to a particular spot in the desert. This description again shows how vast the desert is as the quotes "the great basin"(Lopez, The Hot Spring, 15) and "there would be more space between the towns and more until there were no towns at all"(Lopez, The Hot Spring, 16). In "The Wind", the interaction with a naked girl and an ant on the desert floor describes the desert from a detailed close up view using language such as "a shale canyon"(Lopez, The Wind, 46) and "cul-de-sac of dust"(Lopez, The Wind, 47). Lopez uses nakedness also to better describe the desert.

The use of a bare skin experience aids in a sensory description of the wind in the desert as "He could feel the wind eddying up around him like a cloak"(Lopez, The Hot Spring, 17), and "Tongues of air roping like coils"(Lopez, The Wind, 46) depict.

Sensory language is used frequently to give the reader a detailed understanding of the desert. The wind is described in detail through the way it touches bare skin when "she can feel the air bending like water around the soles of her feet"(Lopez, The Wind, 46) and "the wind soft deep in the roots of his hair "(Lopez, The Hot Spring, 17). Taste and feeling are also used as "he inhaled the tart, sulphurous fumes"(Lopez, The Hot Spring, 16) and "pulls the warm dry air in"(Lopez, The Wind, 45) support.

Descriptive language is used to the fullest, with "the earth crumbling under the crush of my rubber tires"(Lopez, introduction, 8), "the dry, bleached soil"(Lopez, The Hot Spring, 16), "the granite cinder"(Lopez, The Wind, 45), painting clear pictures of the terrain surface. Figurative language is used extensively with the description to allow the reader to experience what is seen. Metaphors like, "as though fixed in space and the earth turning beneath us"(Lopez, Introduction, 8), "his flesh into a lattice of pin-pricked hills"(Lopez, The Hot Spring, 16) and "black hair rolling like quicksilver off itself"(Lopez, The Wind, 5) were used to add depth to the descriptions.

It is fitting that the first text introduces the main theme, using humor as it familiarizes the reader with the author and thesis, thus making the perceptions and descriptions easier to accept and imagine. "I stared at the drivers seat", "Out the driver’s door; in through the back", "I lay my bike down and jogged beside the vehicle"(Lopez, Introduction, 8). This humorous tone has a serious purpose. It is used to show how insignificant man and his technology are in comparison to the desert, which in turn is a description of the desert. "Until then I did not understand how easily the vehicle’s tendencies of direction and movement could be abandoned together with it’s systems of roads, road signs, and stoplights"(Lopez, Introduction, 8).

Reverence can only describe the tone used in "The Hot Spring". The entire story is described as a pilgrimage to a sacred place in the desert where a ritual is performed. "He would always arrive by one in the afternoon"(Lopez, The Hot Spring, 15). To further strengthen this idea and better describe the desert’s meaning to the man, the place is described loosely as having rejuvenating properties since, "He ate and looked out across the desert and imagined that he had come to life again"(Lopez, The Hot Spring, 17).

A sensual tone is used to describe the intimate relationship one can have with the desert. By describing the actions, sights and sensations of a naked girl lying on the ground, the desert is seem through the eyes of someone completely bare of any "civilized" entrapments. The very sexual language and descriptions appeals to a more adult audience, breaking away from a boring but detailed description and gaining more interest in the process. Examples of this language are, "The brown nipple of her white breast rests against a crack in the earth", "It tunnels up between her breasts and is gone"(Lopez, The Wind, 47) and "running back down through the dark hair and piling between her thighs"(Lopez, The Wind, 46).

Using unique perspectives, the three texts succeed in describing the desert as it is to those who are willing to experience it. Starting with the humorous "Introduction" which through use of descriptive language, a personal experience and a lighthearted tone the reader is able to "see" the desert in all it’s magnitude. "The Hot Spring" describes the desert as a holy place to a man willing to give the experience all his attention, while "The Wind" usage of sensual language and teasing actions describes the intimacy the desert can offer. These texts by Barry Lopez depict a multifaceted desert, with as many faces as there are people to experience it and see it for themselves.