"The Southland"

The Southland was written by Henry Miller. It was written to show and inform people about the south and the history it has to offer. The essay targets and audience of men and women with an interest in history and he wants to share with them the passion he has for the south. 

Miller uses ethos to show the audience in great detail what the south looks like. He uses descriptions such as: "At Biloxi, Mississippi, there is a row of live oaks planted a century ago by a Greek which are of such staggering loveliness and magnificence as to make one breathless." This is just one of the many examples of how the author gives the reader an idea of what the south looks like. 

Miller explains that the northerners can't appreciate the beauty the south has to offer because they only look at the south as being defeated but in contrast the ruins and traces of battle hold the memory for what the southerners believed and what they fought for. Miller writes," There are so many elegant and mysterious ruins throughout the South, so much death and desolation,so much ghostliness." He writes that the south is elegant and mysterious at the same time and that these ruins take the people back to that time. 

I thought this this writing displayed a lot of passion that the author had for the south and gave a lot of imagery to show the readers what the south looked liked but it was difficult to read at parts and I had to re-read it several times to fully understand it.