“On a Monument of a Pigeon”

One major rhetorical term crossed my mind the whole time I read “On a Monument of a Pigeon” and that was ‘pathos.’ It’s everywhere! Hardly any neutral terms were used in describing the extinction of the passenger pigeon; instead the neutral terms were replaces with words and phrases like “they [the passenger pigeon] will feel no kiss of sun” and “the death of a species.” Throughout the article, author Aldo Leopold uses terms specified for his opinion on the extinction of the passenger pigeon and how upset he is about it. Leopold talks about how the monument built for the pigeon is a monument that ‘symbolizes our sorrow’ for the passing of this bird. In a direct response to blog leader Andee’s question – “…how much hunting is too much?” – regarding the fact that hunting is what caused this bird to go from the endangered species list to the extinct, I think ‘too much hunting’ is hunting until said animal is on the endangered species list and hunters still hunt. Too much hunting would consist of an ‘addiction’ sort of situation, meaning that people would hunt regardless of knowing the risks, like an addict might do with drugs or something of that nature. I personally enjoy Leopold’s passion for the subject of this bird, it’s comforting to know that the passenger pigeon isn’t just gone from the world, but it subtly remembered by people everyday.