In reading “Thinking Like A Mountain” by Aldo Leopold and “Playing With Wolves” by the American Journal of Play, I became very interested in the social lives of wolves. The first source was assigned to me and I found a second source using the research databases provided by the USD library. In Leopold’s article he explains how humans are taking away wolves in the environment. Leopold gives the mountain personification by saying that it has feelings about the wolves. He wants the audience to understand what the mountain is saying. “Playing with Wolves” is an interview by the American Journal of Play that questions C.J. Rogers about the research she has found while living with wolves at Raised by Wolves, a licensed, nonprofit …show more content…
The way both authors influence the audience to care about the subject is by using pathos. The first source is a personal story about hunting a wolf that impacted his life, whereas in the other source, Rogers is answering all of the questions based on personal stories and information she knows about wolves. This really interested me. Pathos is a great way to get people to be more interested and to feel more connected to the piece. These two sources each also have unique qualities to them. In “Thinking Like a Mountain”, Leopold is talking about how regretful he felt after he killed a wolf. In contrast, in “Playing with Wolves”, Rogers is talking all about how she loves living and interacting with the wolves. This interview also goes into detail about all of the aspects of the wolves’ social interactions. Many people might say that wolves don’t have social lives, but as Rogers says, “Wolves are distinct individuals yet self is seamlessly woven into the fabric of the path.” (16). “Wolves are so good at relationships.” …show more content…
I found out that wolves have very complex social lives, just like humans. From reading Leopold’s article I know now to think like a mountain, not just a human being. If we could all learn to think like a mountain, there is a good possibility of us being able to save this earth from becoming the terrible place it might someday be. From reading “Playing With Wolves” I have learned so much more about the way the wolves interact and how they play. Rogers really made the perfect research by positioning herself within the wolve’s society. The wolves see her as a sentry. She wanted to understand what they were doing so she started paying attention to what they were paying attention to. “It was such a kick to realize that the wolves relied on me and trusted me to fill that role in pack life.” (12). This piece also helped me understand the complexity of the wolf pack structure. It is not just the alpha male and alpha female who take over the pack. It is a huge hierarchy system. “There is no top-ranking alpha. The leaders are not at the top, they are at the center. When the leaders are at the center, you need to reconceptualize. Instead of a ladder, think of a wolf pack using the model of a solar system.” (14). These two sources have helped me gain the understanding of how wolves interact and communicate with not only each other, but with