What Is Van Gogh's Argument For Starry Night

549 Words3 Pages

Light is to life as darkness is to creativity and curiosity. Darkness as described by Bogard is what drives curiosity and reveals all the beauty of the night. Bogard's argument on creativity is elaborated by his use of allusion of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" and Paris' reputation as "The City of Light". By referencing Starry Night, a work of art generally considered to be elegant and exquisite, Bogard establishes that a world absent of excess artificial light could hold the key to a beautiful night sky like Starry Night. This urges the readers to learn and understand the disadvantages of our world being engulfed by unnatural, artificial lighting. Furthermore, Bogard's alludes to Paris as the famed “city of light”, where he then goes on to explain how Paris has even begun to take the steps toward exercising more sustainable lighting practices. This begins to explain how Paris' traditionally alluded-to name is rapidly becoming "the city of light...before 2 AM". This proves his argument because it shows how steps are being taken to preserve the natural darkness. It shows that even a city that is …show more content…

His rhetorical questioning goes straight to the readers’ hearts by bringing up the possibility that their children or grandchildren will never get the chance to view the beauty of night as Bogard sees. This strategy is the appeal of pathos by compelling the audience to directly face the emotion that he has with the idea of darkness. Thus proving that night can and will spark some kind of emotional response. His purpose in writing this story is to show his reaction to artificial light and how it is slowly destroying his beautiful darkness. Bogard then argues that we must preserve true darkness. He proves all his claims by making use of a personal anecdote, allusion, and lastly, rhetorical