TOW #8 A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson)

In A Walk in the Woods, Bryson sells his audience on this point.

In the early 1980s, Bill Bryson, a passionate, comedic, and best-selling author, decided to hike the 2,100 mile Appalachian Trail with minimal previous experience. He had felt the desire to be a true outdoorsman, and decided that the rumored "AT" would provide a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Departing with an old friend, Katz, Bryson traversed the eastern U.S. on foot, and then wrote A Walk in the Woods to describe his experiences. He writes for a broad audience, targeting those who are environmentally conscious, but also those who have/cannot hike the way he does in the book. It is this audience that he targets with a purpose of convincing them to experience the natural beauty of hiking captured in A Walk in the Woods. He does this primarily through his vivid descriptions of his time on the AT, including the challenges but emphasizing his awe of the beauty around him through imagery. For example, on page 153 Bryson describes a possible camping spot where "Everything you could ask for in a woodland setting was here–tall, stately trees broken at intervals of by escalators of dusty sunshine, winding brook, floor of plump ferns, cool air languidly adrift in a lovely green stillness." This description uses metaphors and powerful descriptions to create the setting Bryson finds himself in. It calls to mind something in a fairy tale, a perfect scene of woodland beauty anyone may have seen on television, but Bryson explains he has seen in person. To further the impact of the beauty and majesty of the Appalachian Mountains, Bryson writes with an awe-inspired tone. He includes a lot of natural history in the book, to transform the Appalachian Mountains into profoundly ancient beings. He writes, "Once, aeons ago, the Appalachians were of a scale and majesty to rival the Himalayas...when simple plants colonized the land and the first creatures crawled gasping from the sea, the Appalachians were there to greet them" (190). These facts are elaborated on to accumulate reader's respect for the Appalachians and a desire to experience them for themselves. Lastly, Bryson's book is focused on the fun experience of hiking, made evident through dialogue. Dialogue acts as a conduit for humor through sarcasm or wit, and demonstrates the various interactions that make hiking such a varied and interesting experience. Bryson's conversations with Katz are always amusing, and inspire a reader to have similar ones on the trail. I think that Bryson does a phenomenal job convincing people to hike the AT. He addresses counter arguments by never shying away from the difficulties of hiking, but always emphasizes the benefits of his journey over the grueling nature of the AT.