In class, we read an important article talking about the BEAM method which I explained earlier. After initially reading the article, I initially didn’t really think it was widely applicable… until we read an article in one of my Environmental Ethics course.
The article was written by Edward Abbey, an extremely controversial author who wrote about national parks and how government shouldn’t have a role in protecting nature. His views are anti-establishment, anti-government, and anti-rule abiding.
But, the key thing about his article was the writing style and how he used an exhibit source (which is the E in BEAM). A quick refresher on Exhibit sources, Exhibit sources are an example of using someone else’s writing style or ideas as a lens to get a rhetorical point across.
Abbey wrote using an interesting style and used a “character” to exaggerate some of his points.
This character is known as Cactus Ed and it’s a terrific example of an exhibit source because he’s writing from the perspective of the character instead of from his own perspective.
Edward Abbey was quite the character with his Ron Swanson-like view of government.
If you do not know who Ron Swanson is then you should immediately leave this blog and queue the first episode of Parks and Recreation. It’s a hilarious show and perfect for all types of people.
This is Edward Abbey:
From Wikimedia
And this is the glorious Ron Swanson:
From Odyssey
They are both extremely strong willed nature lovers who believe that no government is the best kind of government.
Sorry for the shameless plug of Parks and Rec… nowack to business.
Along with the “I don’t give a f*uck” attitude he emitted, everything he did or wrote about seemed like an exaggeration. Sometimes it appeared as though he was living his life using Cactus Ed as an exhibit source.
His writing is fascinating and although his ideas were radical and often racist, his use of this rhetorical device to get his point across makes for extremely effective writing. It feels like a novel even though it’s a factual story. Conversely,when it feels like a real example of a personal story, it’s actually a fictional story from the Cactus Ed point of view.
Perhaps I should try using a persona similar to Cactus Ed in my next essay for class.