Post 5A

Vocabulary:

[239] gaiety- state of happiness
[233] jaunty- easy and sprightly in manner or bearing

Logical/Emotional Appeals:

1) "What is certain is that Pagluica had just experienced a surface wind speed of 231 miles per hour. Nothing approaching that velocity has ever been recorded elsewhere." (Pg 228) By using such straightforward terms as numbers, Bryson uses logical appeal to make us understand the wind speed on Mount Washington. (logical)

2) "You threw a water bottle? 'It was heavy.' Of course its heavy. Water's always heavy. But it is also kind of vital, wouldn't you say?" (Pg 240). Bryson grabs the reader's emotion and makes one feel helpless as they learn that his friend got rid of his water bottle. (emotional)

3) "Anyway, we did it[...] Another mountain [...] How many do you need to see Bryson?" (Pg 271). As Katz tells Bryson that they did hike the AT although they only hiked about half of it, the reader understands Katz's emotional appeal by realizing that they didn't need to do the whole thing to get something out of it. (emotional)

Quotation:

"We didn't walk 2,200 miles, it's true, but here's the thing: we tried. So Katz was right after all, and I don't care what anybody says. We hiked the Appalachian Trail." (Pg. 274) Bryson explains that he really didn't really need to hike the whole trail to gain respect for the wilderness and for the trail itself.

Emerging Theme:

By the end of Bryson's account of his hike along the AT, the reader comes to the realization, and so does Bill, that he only hiked under half of the whole trail. Bryson ends his story by saying that although he only hiked 800 of the 2,200 miles, he still considers himself as someone who hiked it. This causes the final theme in the memoir, that to learn from an experience or journey, you don't have to do the whole thing to still get something out of it.