Rhetorical Analysis of Debra Marquart's the Horizontal World

In 1776, the United States saw its first moments of independence after its declaration in the famous historical document every American knows of. This birth of the United States into the world caused newly declared Americans to realize that they had a lot of catching up to do. In Debra Marquart’s The Horizontal World, a story of the rough beginnings of the Midwest unfolds. Marquart catalogues the history of the upper Midwest by describing how it all came to be. Through allusions to Greek history and Fargo, and the geometrical imagery of the landscape of the upper Midwest, Marquart reveals the drab and uninteresting atmosphere of the Upper Midwest.

The aforementioned allusions to Greek history and Fargo reveal the blunt and ironic commentaries on the landscape that is the subject of Marquart’s memoir. Marquart juxtaposes two ideas by referencing Fargo, then stating that the upper Midwest is “the macabre land of murder-by-wood-chipper” (30). The exciting connotation of a Hollywood blockbuster when compared to a “macabre” (30) landscape emphasizes the bleakness that Marquart associates with the area. Following this allusion, Marquat also states that the area is “a place that’s been considered devoid of stories” (32). The boredom and the banality and the bleakness of this area are all depicted by this description of the region. Marquart also alludes to Greek history by referencing Archimedes. Marquart connects the name of the town Eureka, South Dakota and the famous report of Archimedes shouting “Eureka … when he found a way to test the purity of [gold]” (68). The dichotomy between the excitement of a major scientific breakthrough and the monotony of a boring South Dakota state divulges the irony in the allusion and the satirical tone of Marquart. The imagery she provides also exerts this feeling of the bleak and drab.

The geometrical imagery associated with the upper Midwest further emphasizes the ennui of the area. Marquart