Desert Solitaire Chapter Analysis

In chapter nine, “Water”, of Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness, written by Edward Abbey, the author converses with a tourist about the tourist’s claim of there being a water shortage in the park. Abbey disagrees with the tourist and describes many water-related events, such as the way Vernon Pick was able to survive in the desert, Abbey’s encounters with a desert storm, flash floods, quicksand, and pools of water formed after flash floods. In the end of chapter nine, Abbey makes the point that the park does not have a water shortage. In fact, he writes that the park has the right amount of water. Moreover, in chapter ten Abbey discusses the sweltering temperatures of the desert. He argues that no creatures are able to withstand the

Abbey uses ethos by presenting himself as a credible person when arguing that there is no water shortage in the park. In addition, he uses logos by using evidence, such as events in his life and stories to support his statements and arguments. For example, he explains how there is water in the desert and also tells a story about the day he helped his friend out of quicksand, which he had walked over earlier in the day. Moreover, he uses pathos by appealing to the reader’s emotions when explaining that there is no need for more water in the park, unless the people want to convert the park into a city. In the quote, “There is no lack of water here unless you try to establish a city where no city should be” (Abbey 126), to support his claim of having enough water in the park since the park is not meant for a great amount of people to live in. This quote relates to the theme of Quality of Life because it deals with life satisfaction of living in the wilderness. In addition, it also deals with the environment because the wilderness contains water in different forms, and social connectedness to show that people should not live in the wilderness or else it would become a