In May of 1991, Cheryl Strayed, first-person narrator of Wild: From Lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail, endures the painful death of her beloved mother. Strayed can only suffer her loss through hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), struggling to find hope and inspiration via exposure to nature. While on her mentally rigorous hike, in May of 1995, Strayed changes her last name to “Strayed” as a symbolic expression of her confused and lonely feelings, displaying her desperate need to find inspiration to bypass a dangerous abyss of depression. Strayed became intrigued immensely by the intricate relationships between humans and nature; she delved into natural motivations by creating the “Dear Sugar” advice column for the literary website, The Rumpus, as a way to help others find hope and inspiration in all endeavors. In fact, Strayed wrote her first book, Torch, published by Wilderness Press in 2006, as a fiction piece to insightfully unveil the road to motivations through necessarily intense struggles. Additionally, struggles like those faced by Scott Williamson, the first person who through-hiked the entire PCT in both directions in November of 2004, encourage inexperienced hikers like Strayed to persevere. Williamson serves as a person of motivation to inexperienced hikers, inspiring hope for success. Likewise, The Pacific Crest Trail Vol 1, published for the first time in 1973 and used by Strayed religiously, also stands as a beacon of hope to those without guide encouraging them to follow their passions and steer them through nature’s wild embrace. This leads Strayed to claim that nature can both instill hope and inspiration within human beings through the use of a plethora of rhetorical strategies.
Initially, Strayed claims that nature instills hope within human beings through various rhetorical strategies. On the trail, Strayed receives a feather from her friend, Doug, exclaiming later that “it was… [her] good luck charm” (302). Through the optimistic diction of “good luck charm,” she develops a buoyant tone indirectly characterizing herself as inspired by the feather, her “good luck.” The reflective diction of “was” creates a contemplative tone which, in turn, indirectly characterizes herself as pensive of the hope she finds in natural delights. Denotatively “charm” means a magical protection against evil or disease; as a result, it indirectly characterizes Strayed as earnestly confident of the protection imbued by nature. She evokes positive ethos, showing her inspiration for succeeding on the trail. Consequently, she claims that nature inspires confidence within humans. Nature continues to impart hope upon Strayed in the form of a beloved horse, “Lady who saved… [her] mother’s life” (157). The hopeful diction of “saved” develops a reverent tone alluding to the impact of “Lady,” the horse. Strayed directly characterizes her mother as “saved” by “Lady” while additionally indirectly characterizing herself as receptive of the specific healing qualities imparted by animals. She creates pathos by invoking sympathy from those who share a special bond with nature. Strayed feels appreciation for the emotional stability given by nature; nature gave her mother hope through “Lady,” asserting that humans and nature share irreplaceable bonds. Nature gifts humans with hope through enriching journeys also, such as when Strayed “began the long walk” (205). The “long walk” that she ponders applies to both the physical trek and to the metaphorical trek through mind. The resigned diction of “began” and “long walk” implies through logos the hope bestowed by nature. The calming diction of “walk” concludes through logos the enrichment present on her voyage through inferred steady pacing and allure of nature. She feels from nature tranquility and serenity claiming wholeheartedly that nature nurtures the soul.
Subsequently, Strayed also claims that nature inspires humans using multiple rhetorical strategies. As Strayed embraces nature, she muses that “the sky was too mesmerizing” (233). The surreal diction of “mesmerizing” develops a reverent tone to indirectly characterize herself as utterly amazed at the glory of the sky. Additionally, the implied metaphor apparent in “sky” compares the entrancing “sky” to the allure of her far off dreams which symbolizes her inspiration to succeed such feats. Strayed creates ethos to show her proclivity to ponder the splendor of nature and make sense of herself through its unyielding inspiration. She asserts that humans see nature as inexplicably majestic finding inspiration to reach interminable bounds. Dreams also encourage those with innumerable goals, such as when Strayed muses that the “trail was only a dream” (206). The reflective diction of “dream” creates a humble tone which indirectly characterizes herself as enthused. The connotation of “dream,” the holding of faith and desire, symbolizes the insight Strayed finds in nature. The astonished diction of “only” indirectly characterizes herself as amazed at nature’s ability to inspire and instill veneration. The earnest diction metaphorically compares “trail” to “dream” which creates a motivating tone proving that Strayed accomplished all of what she dreamed. This creates positive ethos that expresses Strayed’s inspiration discovery through nature and nature’s power to instill encouragement. She claims that inspiration comes through hope. Strayed finds such hope in “the experience that was powerful” amazed at how enriching nature can become (207). The sincere diction of “powerful” indirectly characterizes herself as gaining confidence inspiring her to finish the trail. The erudite diction of “experience” insinuates knowledge of self and spirit from hiking, which symbolizes her rigorous journey within and her conquest of internal conflict through external conflict. This creates positive ethos by insinuating struggle and overcoming such internal conflict through the inspiration from nature.
On the trail, Strayed learns optimism, anticipation, fear, and wisdom; she grew into a confident, inspired woman on the brink of success. This motivated woman reaches out to those with damaged pasts to inspire them to embrace hope and all that follows. She asserts that humans need hope to overcome the negative experiences, claiming that nature develops acceptance within humans. Strayed’s book, Wild, inspired people, lifting them up when they read it; she inspired one woman in particular to reflect upon her past and make monumental changes. She also motivated readers to follow their own goals and start their own adventures. Since Wild appeared, the trail attracted women interested in hiking the PCT. Strayed inspired the women to embrace life and follow their dreams. Strayed writes to those plagued by past mistakes and experiences to claim that time alone will not heal all. She asserts that humans turn to time as an excuse for fear of change. She pleads stressing that those without motivation and courage may never find the acceptance necessary to accept inspiration. For example, as she read Strayed’s book, a courageous woman decided to reunite with her mother and rekindle their relationship before time ran out. As a matter of fact, I, personally, have recently decided to live in the moment, to enjoy what time we all have left, and to live as though I would die tomorrow. Furthermore, Strayed claims profusely that time waits for no man and those who need hope, must pave their own path. It makes me reflect upon my actions, both recent and future, regarding how each of them impacts the earth and my wish for future generations; they deserve to enjoy the same aesthetic benefits of beautiful nature as we have.
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