Tanya Lee

ENGL 101
9/25/2011
The Good Rain- Critical Response

“With People” is an excerpt from The Good Rain: Across Time and Terrain in the Pacific
Northwest written by Timothy Egan, a Seattle native. He starts out by talking about some
changes he has noticed in Seattle and also comparing it to Tokyo and Chicago. After that he
describes what he sees coming into Elliot Bay on a kayak approaching Seattle. Egan describes
the beauty of the land that also has the new additions of the modern world. He talks about the
natural parts of Seattle like the Black River and tidelands but also adds in that they are now all
gone because of the many changes made because of new innovations.
He then begins to give the reader insight to Seattle's history by telling the story of George
Vancouver mapping out the coast line of the Puget Sound. Also he mentions the natural beauty
of the land by saying “All around, the land rose up in storm-sculpted detail, the islands carpeted
by forests, streams leaping out of steep canyons.” He touches on how Seattle was created also by
talking about Sealth, whom the city is named after. Sealth had a lot of contributions to preserving
the pristine wilderness that Seattle once was.
This excerpt does an excellent job sharing both the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and
the man-made disaster. Even though it has been twenty one years since it was published, it is still
incredibly relevant to many people. I believe that the central point of this writing was to show the
world of the constant changes and evolution happening in the Pacific Northwest. For example,
when he says, “It’s all very new, and all very tentative, for Seattle is a city that can’t decide what
to wear.” I believe that Timothy Egan thinks that not all the changes are good and that some are
destroying the beauty of this place. Although I have lived here my whole life, I never knew that
there were so many changes occurring every day.
 Tanya Lee
ENGL 101
The Good Rain- Critical Response

“With People” is an excerpt from The Good Rain: Across Time and Terrain in the Pacific

Northwest written by Timothy Egan, a Seattle native. He starts out by talking about some

changes he has noticed in Seattle and also comparing it to Tokyo and Chicago. After that he

describes what he sees coming into Elliot Bay on a kayak approaching Seattle. Egan describes

the beauty of the land that also has the new additions of the modern world. He talks about the

natural parts of Seattle like the Black River and tidelands but also adds in that they are now all

gone because of the many changes made because of new innovations.

He then begins to give the reader insight to Seattle's history by telling the story of George

Vancouver mapping out the coast line of the Puget Sound. Also he mentions the natural beauty

of the land by saying “All around, the land rose up in storm-sculpted detail, the islands carpeted

by forests, streams leaping out of steep canyons.” He touches on how Seattle was created also by

talking about Sealth, whom the city is named after. Sealth had a lot of contributions to preserving

the pristine wilderness that Seattle once was.

This excerpt does an excellent job sharing both the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and

the man-made disaster. Even though it has been twenty one years since it was published, it is still

incredibly relevant to many people. I believe that the central point of this writing was to show the

world of the constant changes and evolution happening in the Pacific Northwest. For example,

when he says, “It’s all very new, and all very tentative, for Seattle is a city that can’t decide what

to wear.” I believe that Timothy Egan thinks that not all the changes are good and that some are

destroying the beauty of this place. Although I have lived here my whole life, I never knew that

there were so many changes occurring every day.

 explains to the reader that Seattle is, and for a long time, has undergone changes. He is able to brilliantly portray
the sights of Seattle using imagery in his words to show the reader what he is seeing. For example on page 88 when he
says "Looking around, I see a few hints of traditional life in the temperate zone: a rock crab scrambling over exposed piling,
some loose kelp, a cormorant riding a northern breeze," someone reading this now can easily conjure a vision of this scene.
Egan starts chapter five, With People, by describing what he sees coming into Elliot Bay on a kayak approaching Seattle.
Then he begins to give the reader insight to Seattle's history, relaying the story of George Vancouver mapping out the coast
line of the Puget Sound. He touches on Chief Sealth, for whom the city is named after, and his contributions to preserving
the pristine wilderness that Seattle once was. He then goes on to talk about how Seattle's economy was built upon logging
and prostit......