The Meadow
On a crisp autumn afternoon, I sat idly under an enormous oak tree
watching as a whirlwind whisked across the rolling hills of the meadow. As it
passed by me, the whirlwind scooped up a dormant pile of leaves lying next to
the oak tree. The leaves appeared to come alive twisting, turning, and dancing
about the meadow. They were sporting their new fall colors of red, orange,
brown, and yellow. The brittle autumn leaves seemed to be having a party. As
the party moved out of sight, I began to think about the last time I visited the
meadow. The memories of my last visit are vivid with relaxed and peaceful
thoughts motivated by the images, scents, and sounds of the meadow.
The beauty of the meadow in the summer is unequaled. My memories
contained many images of this special place. Snow covered mountains extend high
above the heavens; thus, setting the backdrop to the meadow. Wildflowers
speckled the base of the mountain becoming more abundant near the babbling
brook. The brook ran through the midd...
Most issues on a farm return to the issue of keeping up appearances. (Smiley p.199)
In his article, Philippon begins by discussing the importance that the landscape plays in "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains." First, he quotes William Carlos Williams as saying that Poe was "intimately shaped by his locality and time," although he tends to focus on the "soul" of his surroundings, rather than the physical aspects. Philippon then goes on to say that he believes that Poe does, in fact, use the physical landscape in this particular story in order to highlight the differences between the make-believe environment of the Indian landscape of the story and that of the Ragged Mountains. The author says that this is "crucial to a complete understanding of the story."
They build ships, farmed, and traded for money. The Middle Colonies were less industrial than the New England Colonies, yet more industrial than the Southern Colonies. Lumber and shipbuilding were both important industries in the Middle Colonies. The middle colonies were fertile. Land was generally acquired more easily than in New England. Farming was dominant in the Middle Colonies and was known as the bread winner of all the colonies. The Middle Colonies' chief export was grain, in addition to other crops such as corn, vegetables, fruit and livestock. There was more religious freedom in the Middle Colonies than in New England. No single church or religion dominated in the Middle Colonies. The Middle colonies were the most democratic, religiously tolerant, and the fastest growing colonial region. Their religious groups were: Quakers, Huguenots, Jews, and the Presbyterians. The people who founded the Middle Colonies were looking to practice their own religion (Pennsylvania mainly) or to make money. All of the systems of government in the Middle Colonies elected their own legislature, they were all democratic, had a governor, governor's court, and a court
Nestled deep within the Berkshire Mountains rests the small town of Westfield, Massachusetts. Every morning, a light, tepid fog settles among the quiet streets, devising a peaceful and calm atmosphere. Light winds gently brisk through the many oak trees, swaying the branches back and forth. From afar, the tall mountains border the limits of Westfield, forming a panorama of natural landscape. Fortunately, I was able to call the town of Westfield my home for many years. However, the town serves as more than a source of scenery. Westfield, Massachusetts, has profound personal importance as it portrays the majority of my lifetime. In fact, residing in Westfield has positively impacted my life as a result of the particular climate, historic motif, and community entrenched within the town.
Does wilderness exist? To many people, this would seem to be a very meaningless question. Of course wilderness exists. But, coming from a student who decided to enroll in a class called Humans and the Natural Environment: Impacts and Moral Obligations, this question has become one that has almost thrown my world upside down. Before we can answer the question, we must first know the definition of wilderness is this, “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man is a visitor who does not remain.” Because of my recent class periods and readings, I believe that the concept of wilderness does not exist, and that it is not useful. Throughout this essay I will explain why
Jane Smiley’s novel, A Thousand Acres, is a contemporary interpretation of William Shakespeare’s classical tragedy King Lear. Comparisons are clearly visible in the very beginning of A Thousand Acres when Smiley begins with a vivid description of the landscape. Even the characters are similar and having read King Lear, I already had an impression of them before reading A Thousand Acres. But they are not completely similar as there are some differences due to the perspectives through which the stories are told.
Where I come from, the vast land stretches on for miles, filled with dancing corn and wheat fields. Turn one direction and look at the clouds of dust rising off the gravel road, then turn the other way, that's about all there is to see here. A town of two stop lights. As you are driving, don’t blink, you may miss this little place. Some people may say there isn’t much to miss anyway, but I’d beg to differ. This is the place where I met and grew up with lifelong friends.
Allusion first helped describe the ironic aspects of the poem by focusing on the odd setting of the poem. Collins description of the speaker’s town shares many traits of a regular town, but also incorporates traits from a school environment. The following lines will help explain the setting and how it relates to a school environment. The first example of this is shown in lines four through six; “I can see it nestled in a paper landscape, chalk dust flurrying down in winter, nights dark as a blackboard” (Collins). In these lines Collins describes the physical setting outside. Paper landscape is being compared to actual grass landscape outside. Chalk dust is white and powdery, as is fresh snow falling from the sky. And black boards are dark and cold, as are dark nights when the sun goes down. Chalk, paper, and black boards are all found in a school environment, and each one of these aspects help bring the setting to life in the readers mind. The reader can relate to what they are picturing as they continue reading the poem. Th...
“Al Condraj sat on the bench he had made and smelled the parsley garden and didn’t feel humiliated anymore. But nothing could stop him from hating the two men, even though he knew they hadn’t done anything they shouldn’t have done.” (The Parsley Garden, Junior Great Books, Series 6, pg.42)
Robert Frost wrote the poem “The Pasture” in 1913. He gives the reader a springtime pasture for the setting. There are leaves on the ground, and cows are roaming the land. Also, Frost gives the reader the feeling of springtime with the image of a thawed pond and baby calf (Savant 3). Frost used this setting to convey a soft setting in order to connect with the reader. The speaker of the poem is talking to an unknown character. He tells the other unknown character that he was cleaning the pasture and he will stop only to rake or to watch the water. The speaker says that he will not be gone long. At this moment, he invites the unknown character to join him. Next the speaker says that he is going to get a little calf with its mother. The calf is so small that it totters when its mother licks him. Finally, the speaker explains that it will not be a long trip to the pasture and invited the reader to join him (Savant 2).
In the book, My Antonia, the landscape along with Jim's reactions to it help us to feel all the emotions of the scene. His feelings of lonliness, sadness, awe and happiness are felt through his words and we can form a picture from the descriptions, adding to what we already know. He feels these emotions in the first few scenes. All because he wants a place to call home.
Standing on the balcony, I gazed at the darkened and starry sky above. Silence surrounded me as I took a glimpse at the deserted park before me. Memories bombarded my mind. As a young girl, the park was my favourite place to go. One cold winter’s night just like tonight as I looked upon the dark sky, I had decided to go for a walk. Wrapped up in my elegant scarlet red winter coat with gleaming black buttons descending down the front keeping away the winter chill. Wearing thick leggings as black as coal, leather boots lined with fur which kept my feet cozy.
Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", seems to be a simple story of a man and his horse. It portrays beautiful imagery with an enjoyable rhythm and rhyming scheme. Taking a second look at this poem may bring a more complex curiosity about what Frost is exactly trying to achieve through his words. It is apparent in the breakdown of the poem that new meanings and revelations are to be found. This is seen by relating almost all of his statements to each stanza and line. Robert Frost's aesthetic philosophy about "Stopping by Woods" gives a more penetrating view into his work.
Every poem has its own individual meaning. Most of the time, it depends on who wrote the poem and how they were feeling when they wrote it. Robert Frost, in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” shows that he had places to be rather where he wanted to be. The reader can always have a clue to what is going on by the initial poem idea.
The world we live in today is always changing, whether it be technology or the land. As these changes take place, society must adapt to them. Many things begin to change as a result of this and society beings to turn into something completely different. One of the most overlooked changes that takes place is that of the environment and landscape. The landscape is one of the most important parts of our society’s culture and has a great effect on how we live. It seems that nowadays, many individuals are taking advantage of the land and nothing appreciating it for every thing that it is worth. Its true that not everyone is going to look at the environment and landscape in the same way, however that is no excuse to disrespect it. Then again, a whole new argument can start from that, as different individuals are going to have different views on what disrespecting the land. Many positive things have come from taking advantage of the land, and also, there have been many negative things to come as a result of this. It all depends on how you look at it. One thing is for sure though, no matter what the case is, the land and environment we live in plays a huge part in each of our everyday lives.