The Exploration of the Human Relationship with Nature in Never Cry Wolf

1142 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The Relationship Between Human Beings and Wild Animals

Somewhere to the eastward a wolf howled; lightly, questioningly. I knew the voice, for I had heard it many times before. It was George, sounding the wasteland for an echo from the missing members of his family. But for me it was a voice which spoke of the lost world which was once ours before we chose the alien role; a world which I had glimpsed and almost entered…only to be excluded, at the end, by my own self. (Mowat 163)

These words are central to Farley Mowat’s idea that humans are able to join the world of nature that they were once a part of, but must ultimately return to the radically different world of humans. Firstly, man’s capability to adapt and then exclude themselves from nature is demonstrated in the affiliation of the protagonist with the wolves. Secondly, Ootek’s explanations of his knowledge and past experiences indicate that man is not able to fully adapt into nature as they would be alienated by their own feelings and reactions. Finally, the consequences of a man’s prolonged separation from nature is shown through the symbol of the Eskimos. Farley Mowat’s Never Cry Wolf suggests, through the relationship of the protagonist and the wolves, Ootek’s progression into nature, and the strange, unusual perceptions the symbol of Eskimos portrays towards man, that man has the ability to adapt and become a part of nature, but must eventually revert to the human world.

Throughout the novel, the ongoing relationship between Farley Mowat, whom is the protagonist, and the wolves demonstrate the way which the protagonist adapts himself into nature, only to exclude himself from it. Initially, the protagonist and the wolf are scared of one another. To illustrate, the protagonist and a wolf meet face to face, where they sta...

... middle of paper ...

...rstly, the relationship between the protagonist and the wolves demonstrates man’s ability to become accustomed to nature and then to be rejected from it by their own natural human attributes and qualities. Secondly, man’s own human nature will stop him from fully merging with nature, which is explored through Ootek’s descriptions and explanations. Lastly, the symbol of the Eskimos reveals that because man has been isolated from nature for so long, they will never fully become a part of nature. As a matter of fact, humans were once a part of nature, but they have decided to detach themselves from it to create and follow a new role in the world. Now, humans are destroying nature, rather than preserving and respecting it. With the natural and human qualities that humans have, it is no wonder why humans are not able to fully rejoin the world of nature once again.

Show More
Related

  • Dialectical Analysis Of 'The Road Lit Circle'

    795 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Maybe he understood for the first time that to the boy he was himself an alien. A being from a planet that no longer existed. The tales of which were suspect. He could not construct for the child's pleasure the world he'd lost without constructing the loss as well and he thought perhaps the child had known this better than he" (McCarthy 129-130).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Heart's Fox By Josephine Johnson

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    Instead of allowing a peaceful compromise between how humans takes on nature there seems to be a lot more indecisive decisions on how humans might think of nature and how vital it is to us and that it's another substance on the earth we live in that must be respected. The actions in this essay this is what had created Johnson's idea on this text giving us the image of what happens to some of these creature without remorse and it is a sad idea to process for some as for others it's a fun process to think about. When she first sees the fox it's described almost as a hero of some sort as it runs with a chip on it's shoulders but until she gets the closer looks she explains the fox saying “Her eyes were cold and amber…there were ticks in her ears and one ear was bitten and ragged on the edges” (72), what once was looked at with high standards is not looked at with confusion and sorrow. After seeing the chilling image of the fox we start to feel like if only there were something that could be done to help ant part of nature from being beaten up. In the end Johnson explains how a while after seeing the fox she comes to understand that man had become the conqueror of the that area by saying “And that winter a hunter trapped and killed all the foxes of these woods and fields for miles around” (72), not something that should be bragged upon by others. What would you yourself think of this situation she was in finding out of a man who hunted all the foxes in that area and now to not be seen

    Read More

  • Humility In Jon Krakauer's Into The Wild

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    The wild is a place to push yourself to the limit and take a look at who you truly are inside. “Wilderness areas have value as symbols of unselfishness” (Nash). Roderick Nash’s philosophy states that the wilderness gives people an opportunity to learn humility but they fight this because they do not have a true desire to be humble. Human-kind wants to give out the illusion that they are nature lovers when in reality, they are far from it. “When we go to designated wilderness we are, as the 1964 act says, "visitors" in someone else's home” (Nash). People do not like what they cannot control and nature is uncontrollable. Ecocentrism, the belief that nature is the most important element of life, is not widely accepted. The novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer depicts a young boy who goes on an exploration to teach himself the true concept of humility. Chris McCandless, the protagonist, does not place confidence in the universal ideology that human beings are the most significant species on the planet, anthropocentrism.

    Read More

  • The Crossing Cormac Mccarthy Analysis

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion often enlightens one with newfound reverence and respect. While caring for the wolf, the man finds both reverence and respect through a few spiritual encounters. As he is walking with the wolf, the man hears coyotes calling from the hills “above him where their cries [seem] to have no origin other than the night itself.” This represents the heavens calling out to the wolf to enter its gates. Once the man stops to build a fire, he seems to hold a ritual for the wolf. His shelter steamed “in the firelight like a burning scrim standing in a wilderness where celebrants of some sacred

    Read More

  • Exploring Rousseau's Discourse on Natural Humanity

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Rousseau, in the state of nature, man resembles the image of a savage. The human animal does not have a language or self awareness. Man simply dispersed among the beasts by imitating and

    Read More

  • Erich Fromm: Psychoanalysis and Religion

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fromm underlines a split in humans, a theme of separation that is evident. To begin with, Fromm proposes that humans have been torn away from their prehistoric union with nature because of “reason.” Fromm suggests that man is a part of nature, while being “apart” from it, this is a result of “self-awareness, reason, and imagination.” These humanistic characteristics have disrupted harmony in nature, creating this dichotomous human existence. Furthermo...

    Read More

  • Wallace Stegner's Wilderness Letter

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Wallace Stegner’s “Wilderness Letter,” he is arguing that the countries wilderness and forests need to be saved. For a person to become whole, Stegner argues that the mere idea of the wild and the forests are to thank. The wilderness needs to be saved for the sake of the idea. He insinuates that anyone in America can just think of Old faithful, Mt. Rainier, or any other spectacular landform, even if they have not visited there, and brought to a calm. These thoughts he argues are what makes us as people whole.

    Read More

  • Dark Romanticism And Transcendentalism

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    Men are strong and powerful human being’s, but does nature defeat them? In all through these three pieces that Edgar Allen Poe and Herman Melville wrote it is proven that nature is stronger than man. It is shown that in every aspect that nature is too over powering for man to handle. The factor of nature being strong, dangerous and unpredictable at the same time is too much for any man or any manmade object to overcome. The power of nature does defeat man in every way; it cannot be stopped or slowed down no matter what is done to prepare for it. When people think of man, they think of carefree living with no problems other than other human beings, but truth to be told, the power of nature is what is in control and will always be in control as long as man remains alive on this powerful and unpredictable planet.

    Read More

  • Jon Krakauer's Use of Ethos, Logos and Pathos When Writting Into the Wild

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Into the Wild by John Krakauer is a rare book in which its author freely admits his bias within the first few pages. “I won't claim to be an impartial biographer,” states Krakauer in the author’s note, and indeed he is not. Although it is not revealed in the author's note whether Krakauer's bias will be positive or negative, it can be easily inferred. Krakauer's explanation of his obsession with McCandless's story makes it evident that Into the Wild was written to persuade the reader to view him as the author does; as remarkably intelligent, driven, and spirited. This differs greatly from the opinion many people hold that McCandless was a simply a foolhardy kid in way over his head. Some even go as far as saying that his recklessness was due to an apparent death-wish. Krakauer uses a combination of ethos, logos and pathos throughout his rendition of McCandless’s story to dispute these negative outlooks while also giving readers new to this enigmatic adventure a proper introduction.

    Read More

  • The Naturalistic Ideals of Jack London

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jack London’s use of an animal’s perspective allows the readers to fully understand how the harsh landscapes of the Klondike influenced the individual; this strategy exemplifies the naturalism evident among many of his works. For example, in London’s The Call of the Wild, the environmental conditions that occur shape the main character’s destiny and his inability to control these changes. The protagonist is a dog named Buck who is forced to adapt to the austere conditions of the Yukon after being stolen from his pampered life in civilization and sold to a sled team en route to the Klondike Gold Rush. This journey proves to be extremely difficult when Buck faces several obstacles, such as being beaten with a club and the fierce rivalry between him and the nefarious pack leader Spitz. “Yet, by following his instincts, Buck takes his readers to the deepest reaches of the mind…” (“London, Jack”). He cannot control his fate; ...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Never Cry Wolf

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    Never cry Wolf is a book about Farley Mowat’s experiences throughout the Keewatin barrens. The central theme is “the truth lies behind the stories of society” Farley was informed of the dramatic decline of caribou and was told to prove that the wolves are responsible before his expedition, he and his superiors felt very educated on the behavior of wolves. On page nine the author stated “because their grievance is the complaint that the wolves are killing all the deer,and more and more of our fellow citizens are coming back from more and more hunts with less and less deer.” Also, nearly all of the northern Canadian population agreed that wolves were a nuance and should be destroyed. Once Farley Mowat finally made it out of Churchill and into the north he obviously went in with a biased mindset towards the wolves, however once Farley

    Read More

  • The Call of the Wild Versus Into the Wild

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    Chris McCandless and Buck serve as examples of the archetype of the wild through their experiences of leaving where they feel most comfortable and answering the call of the wild. They show that each experience is inimitable because the wild is unique to every individual. For Buck, the wild is a place outside of civilization and his dependence on man, where the external threats of nature exist and he must prove himself as a true animal with instincts for survival. In McCandless' case, the place outside of civilization is actually an escape from his fears because the wild for him is in relationships, where the threat of intimacy exists and he must learn to trust others for happiness. This is because for each of us, the wild is what we fear, a place outside of our comfort zone and, as McCandless' experience shows, not necessarily a physical place. To render to the call of the wild we must leave everything that makes us feel protected, and we must make ourselves completely vulnerable to the wild. McCandless and Buck show that in order to successfully respond to the call of the wild we must relinquish control and drop our guards, until ultimately the fear subsides and we find peace with ourselves as well as with our environments.

    Read More

  • Our Relationship With Nature Explored in Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer explores the human fascination with the purpose of life and nature. Krakauer documents the life and death of Chris McCandless, a young man that embarked on an Odyssey in the Alaskan wilderness. Like many people, McCandless believed that he could give his life meaning by pursuing a relationship with nature. He also believed that rejecting human relationships, abandoning his materialistic ways, and purchasing a book about wildlife would strengthen his relationship with nature. However, after spending several months enduring the extreme conditions of the Alaskan wilderness, McCandless’ beliefs begin to work against him. He then accepts that he needs humans, cannot escape materialism, and can never fully understand how nature functions. Most importantly, he realizes that human relationships are more valuable than infinite solitude. McCandless’ gradual change of heart demonstrates that exploring the wilderness is a transformative experience. Krakauer uses the life and death of Chris McCandless to convey that humans need to explore nature in order to discover the meaning of life.

    Read More

  • Symbolism and Devices in Stephen Crane's The Open Boat

    1931 Words  | 4 Pages

    The theme of this story is actually stated in the story if it is read carefully and Crane reinforces it innumerable times.  The theme of the story is man’s role in nature and is related to the reader through the use of color imagery, cynicism, human brotherhood, and the terrible beauty and savagery of nature.  The story presents the idea that every human faces a voyage throughout life and must transition from ignorance to comprehension of mankind’s place in the universe and among other humans.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Thinking Like A Mountain By Aldo Leopold

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    While reading “Thinking like a Mountain” by Aldo Leopold, published in 1986, and “Landscape Use and Movements of Wolves in Relation To Livestock in a Wildland-Agriculture Matrix” by Chavez and Gese which was a piece from The Journal of Wildlife Management, published in 2006, I have become interested in investigating the question of how wolves interact with livestock. In Leopold’s article he explains how humans are taking away the role of wolves. He explains how when humans hunt animals, they are taking away the wolves role within the environment. His whole article is a personification because he gives the mountain feelings, which we know they do not have feelings. Leopold wants the audience to think and feel how the environment does. In his article he also explains how the wolves interact with the cattle. I am researching how wolves affect the livestock on farms. My second article, by Chavez and Gese, is about expanding the wolf range in Minnesota. Chavez and Gese’s

    Read More

More about The Exploration of the Human Relationship with Nature in Never Cry Wolf

Open Document