The American Indian Wilderness

In the essay, “The American Indian Wilderness”, Louis Owens presents a personal story to show a dramatic change in his point of view. His story revolves around a mind-altering experience in which he uses himself as the straw figure, allowing us to effectively see how he came to choose his new view and why it is better than the European view he once had. He successfully gains our trust and persuades his audience with three …

…shows us that he is willing to admit and change his faults if it betters the initial job he set out to do: protect the wilderness. His final persona, the lecturing teacher points out the right way of thinking about humans and their relationship to the wilderness. He convinces us that it’s time to think about our actions and their effect. With this, Owens has effectively used three different personas to persuade his audience.