In the first 122 pages of the book "Refuge," author Terry Tempest Williams tells her story of surviving her mother's cancer in a rhetorical style. Rhetoric is fancy language used to distort the truth. Williams rhetorically compares her mother's cancer and nature by the use of logos, ethos, and pathos, all of which are rhetorical components.
             Logos is defined as an author's argument based on facts, evidence, reason, and logic. The use of logos in Refuge is evident in several places within the first 122 pages. At the start of each chapter, the level of Great Salt Lake is stated, such as "lake level: 4203.25'" (p. 21). Williams is also very factual, having comparable statistics, such that "California has lost 95 percent of its wetlands over the past one hundred years. Eighty-five percent of Utah's wetlands have been lost in two years." (p. 111).
             William's use of logos is also present in the showing of knowledge of specific birds. On page 71 Williams states "Gulls are more resilient to change and less vulnerable than other birds to environmental stresses." Which is not a common knowledge. Another bird Williams seems knowledgeable about is the starling. On page 56 she informs us that "Starlings forage by day in open country competing with native species such as bluebirds for food." Another component of rhetoric is ethos, which is appeal based on character. She convinces the reader that she's credible and trustworthy. I personally feel Williams is credible for the mere fact she offers her personal story. Williams also proves herself honest by answering her mother truthfully. After an operational attempt at removing her mother's cancer she asks Terry, "Did they get it all?" (p. 38). She told her mother the heartbreaking truth despite how difficult it was for both of them. I also believe Williams to be a credible writer through her creative language use. Williams keeps the book tied together through the use of many symb...