There are various ways to write about every topic. Every author has their own writing style that makes their work stand out from all the other writers. When it comes to nature writing it may seem like their isn't much variety. On the surface it seems like everyone of the writers just describes trees and animals; They simply use different words to do so. In actuality there are big differences in the way certain pieces are written compared to the rest. These differences are clear when comparing Edward Abbey’s “The Great American Desert” to “The Journals of Lewis and Clark” by Meriwether Lewis. Lewis writes interesting stories of his adventure to draw a reader in while Abbey uses humor and irony in his writing to draw a reader in. The goals …show more content…
Edward Abbey uses a humorous approach to talk about the desert. He spends almost all of “The Great American Desert” trying to convince you to not go to the desert in a sarcastic way while really talking about how amazing the desert really is. In the first sentence Abbey writes “In my case it was love at first sight. This desert, all deserts, any desert” (Abbey 620). This establishes that Abbey is a fan of the desert. The entire first paragraph goes on to talk about how much he likes the desert. This is important because the second paragraph starts out by saying “Stay out of there [the desert]. Don't go… The Great American Desert is an awful place” (Abbey 620). This is the start Abbey’s comedic style of writing. He spends the remainder of the piece talking about how bad the desert and why not to go there. If not for the first paragraph it would be fairly easy to say he doesn't like the desert but there are other times where it is clear he actually really enjoy the desert. For example, later in the piece he starts to ask the reader why they'd even want to go to the desert. Abbey then asks if it is to see “an osprey on a carbon cactus, snatching the head off a living fish- always the best part first. The hawk sailing by at 200 feet, squirming snake in its talons” (Abbey 626). The connotation of the paragraph is that nobody wants to see that but there are many people that would see that as …show more content…
He writes in a journal and tells stories of what happens to him and the people he is exploring with. This journalistic writing gives a day by day of what is going on as they venture on through the territory. The reader gets a glimpse of the most interesting parts of each day and Lewis uses this to talk about the most interesting parts of the adventure. On May 31, 1805 Lewis writes “The hills and river Clifts which we passed today exhibit a most romantic appearance. The bluffs of the river rise to height from 2 to 300 feet and in most places nearly perpendicular… As we passed on it seemed as if those seen of visionary inchantment would never have an end” (Lewis 100-101). The rest of the paragraph goes on to talk in great detail about these hills around the river. This amount of detail makes a person want to go and see what Lewis is talking about in real life. That is Lewis’s goal; he wants people to want to go out and see nature just like he did. Another reason this journalistic writing style works is it gives the writer the ability to tell short, interesting stories. One story of Lewis’s that stands out is the one about them running into a bear. While traveling along a river they “discovered a large brown bear lying gin the open grounds… and six of them went to attack him [the bear]… in an instant this monster ran at them with open mouth” (Lewis 99). The
Lewis is one of the most complex characters in Dickey's novel. It is difficult to tell exactly what his motives are or why he feels such a need to be a survivalist. Because of the way that Lewis talks his friends into participating in his adventures he could potentially end up in Bolgia 9 of Circle 8 in Hell. This is the place where sowers of discord are kept. The families of his friends and even his friends themselves are drug into his plans because he is so convincing that they need to canoe down the river. Even when his friends protest, he strongly rebuts. "'Listen,' Lewis said, knocking on the air with his foreknuckle, `you'll be in more danger on the four-lane going home tonight than you'd ever be on the river. Somebody might jump the divider. Who knows?'" (Dickey 7) Because he talks his friends into joining him on this adventure with such fervor, he is therefore a sower of discord in their lives. These sinners are wounded and mutilated in a variety of ways, but there is one that most closely resembles Lewis' ability to persuade his friends. "Then he grasped on...
Lewis wrote in his journal that it was “the grandest sight” that he had “ever beheld.” Today much of the landscape the Lewis and Clark crossed remains unchanged. The dense forest, rugged mountains, and rushing rivers are still abundant with fish and other wildlife. The river canyons, mountains meadows, and Great Plains of Montana have earned the state the unofficial nickname of the “last best place.” (Av2 books).
Turner’s writing style is dull but effective and to the point. Rather than leading the readers down a path full of redundant adjectives and vague foreshadowing, she instead focuses on the story and what it is worth. She writes at a level most people can comprehend while still answering any and all questions the reader might encounter. Her obvious motive for writing this book was to inform readers of the trials and tribulations of Lewis and Clark while still putting her own spin on the events of the expedition. As Erin Turner was born well after the Lewis and Clark escapade, this means she is recanting the story based on writings and historical journals. Because of this information gap, at times the reader feels somewhat lost in her words. One of the main goals on the expedition by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark was to map out the western territory they would be traveling through. In the journals of Clark and Lewis, maps were abundant. These maps identified...
First of all, Edward Abbey admits to being a certain bias and that he is a, “butterfly chaser, googley eyed bleeding heart and wild conservative.” So, in other words he is intending this article to be read by environmental activist who will support his opinion and the action that he is trying to take. Edward Abbey worked as a seasonal park ranger for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area back in 1967, so of course he would be against any environmental action taken to change the canyon. He stated that before the damnation of the canyon that there were streams, waterfalls, plunge pools, and plenty of wildlife. Now you can only find that on a small scale and that these thing...
Jefferson dispatched Lewis off with numerous pages of unique commands approximately what facts to collect throughout the adventure: What have been the Indians like? What have been their languages, their customs, their scientific conduct? Jefferson craved information of the plant and animal lifestyles, the minerals, and the mountains. And, of direction, he wanted to understand the opportunities
In the biography C.S. Lewis: Master Storyteller by Janet and Geoff Benge, several moments and images are portrayed showing vitality in their writing. Countless experiences aided to the changes that took place in C.S. Lewis’s life, and each affair displayed vital conceptions which illustrated clever pictures for one’s mind. From the deaths in his family and even being thrown into the heat of the battlefield, like in World War 1, one could feel as if they were experiencing the battle themselves. For example one scene is describing Lewis while he watched several men dying from either side trying to gain a portion of no-man’s land (Benge & Benge, 2007, p. 58), the scene is depicted being littered with dead bodies and barbed wire surrounding deep trenches of the battle.
Edward Abbey's heart lies in the once beautiful Glen Canyon. He describes all of his wonderful childhood stories of him floating down the river and how all it took was a paddleboat and little money. He tells of the great beauty of all the animals, insects, forestry, and ancient scenery the canyon once had. This is why Abbey feels reservoirs are doing terrible things for not only Glen Canyon but every river. When you think about it, a natural river untainted by the ways of machinery and humans is virtually non existent today. Any river large enough to have a dam and produce a substantial amount of electricity probably already has many of them doing so. Abbey feels they are ruining the environment and wildlife is being sacrificed. The risen waters of the reservoir drown all of the life that once lived. All of the beautiful scenery and historic sights are replaced by water marked rocks, muddy banks, and very small amounts of forestry and greenery. He believes the whole river is completely disrupted with every reservoir and dam. He highlights the fact that exploring the river now requires a tour guide boat or enough money to buy your own. Overall, Abbey does give some good reasons behind his opinion. However, I have a different belief on the matter. Although Edward Abbey uses strong personal experiences to persuade the reader to argue that the man made reservoirs are destroying the beautiful canyon and the environment, I think he overlooks the other possible opinions and the benefits of having them.
When thinking about nature, Hans Christian Andersen wrote, “Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” John Muir and William Wordsworth both expressed through their writings that nature brought them great joy and satisfaction, as it did Andersen. Each author’s text conveyed very similar messages and represented similar experiences but, the writing style and wording used were significantly different. Wordsworth and Muir express their positive and emotional relationships with nature using diction and imagery.
As humans, we need food to survive. This is a basic need and want and has always been primarily done by farming the land. That farmed land requires sunlight, nutrients, and fresh water. If one of these three criteria is missing, the land is no longer able to birth vegetation. The biggest issue we face here in Canada is desertification. This term means that the land being classified with this is losing its water either to drought or to human causes. Desertification is a form of land degradation and is found to be an issue all over the globe. These dry lands are not just centered on a small percentage of people but affect up to half of the world’s population. This type of soil erosion is due to many factors. The biggest is the latitude of the area under concentration. Of course the closer you are to the equator the hotter and less precipitation is going to reach the land and this also affects natural weather cycles. The sad thing is however that where there is desertification, poverty will not be far. This makes sense for the reason we have poverty is because there are people without food and shelter. This connects to the lack of vegetation for with desertification the food and materials needed cannot grow to make a successful civilization. Looking at what causes desertification we can at least attempt to reverse the results. Desertification is caused by human error by globalizing prematurely.
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
In many works of literature, authors often have a point they are trying to convey. This may be something about religion or politics, for example. In From Walden by Henry David Thoreau and Against Nature by Joyce Carol Oates, both authors are trying to make different claims regarding the topic of nature. Thoreau’s piece speaks more positively of nature whereas Oates’ piece contradicts the romantic views some writers have about nature. In making their claims, both authors utilize different structures to convey clear messages to the reader.
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey is a collection of autobiographical excerpts depicting Abbey's experiences as a park ranger of Arches National Monument in 1956 and 1957. In the chapter, Water, Abbey discusses how the ecosystem and habitats adapt to the arid and barren weather of the Southwest over time. In addition, he explains that the streams, riverbeds and other means of water end up finding their own ways to support their ecosystem's struggling animal and plant life. Abbey also explores different and unusual means of water such as flash floods and quicksand. Furthermore, Abbey contrasts how the environment adapts naturally to very low water conditions with how human demands to expand outside water sources to attract more civilians and
Gibbons, Stella. "Imaginative Writing." Light on C.S. Lewis. Ed. Jocelyn Gibb. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1965. Print.
“Ode to Enchanted Light” by Pablo Neruda expresses and “Sleeping in the Forest” by Mary Oliver show deep appreciation of nature using a free form and narrative style formats. Pablo has a positive message about the lights under the trees, and has
Perhaps one of the more notable aspects of his writing is his fondness of nature,