The Southland

I thought that The Southland, by Henry Miller, was a well written piece. It is a short essay about the South in the United States. It aims to reach readers of all different backgrounds, genders, and races. It mainly seeks to talk to those who dislike the South for any reason. He tries to convey all the hidden beauty in the South to everybody who has yet to experience it themselves. He does this through the use of vivid imagery throughout the entire essay to try to get the reader to let go of some of their reservations about the South and see it through Miller’s eyes.

All of the imagery in this essay does a great job of appealing to the pathos. He describes the scenery and feeling of the South in a way that gets the reader to momentarily see past their dark history and appreciate the beauty of the land. Miller also makes use of ethos by constantly informing the reader that he visited those places and seen all the sights with his own eyes. He describes visiting and traveling all across the South and makes sure his audience knows he has extensive firsthand experience in the South. Miller doesn’t attempt to appeal to the logos enough, this may be because the beauty he is trying to describe can’t be conveyed though facts. Overall, I think this was a well written piece full of great imagery that kept me interested until the end.