Blackwater Chronicle - Essay Example

Pro-humor vs. pro-informative vantage point The Blackwater chronicle is a comical book that humorously and to some extent realistically narrates the expedition events. In this essay, I consider the weight of humor to surmount the realistic retelling of the events. This humorous treatment of a wilderness exploration makes plentiful use of witty fictional devices and conventional allusions more in the vein of 18th-century writers than the journalistic approach of Kennedy’s 19th-century generation.

Humorously, Kennedy and Strother describe the journey as enjoyable yet that is not the case since no direct routes are available. By quote, he says “And then, what exhilaration of spirit is felt by you as you roll smoothly along at the rate of ten miles an hour, your horses scarcely stretching a trace”. This quote tends to imply that the journey was smooth though speed taken was low. In addition, the path available was in between the daggling cliffs and the deep gorge, thousands of feet to the stream (Kennedy, Strother 12).

This was a place of keen movement and any careless maneuver could result in fatalities. The image of the expedition as created by the writer is humorously smooth even though it might not mirror the truth. This frequently humorous and always fascinating narration reveals Kennedy's journey into new territory. The Blackwater chronicle gives Kennedy’s writing a new perspective of adventure while basing many of his arguments on humor. In chapter 2, the stout gentlemen as the author refer to them humorously make a vow before departing for the journey in a unique way.