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The role of nature in modern literature
Use of nature in literature
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W.G. Sebald creates a lasting piece of literature in Paul Bereyter by using detailed descriptions of the world around him to distract the reader from his growing depression and seclusion. Like in the story of the boy who cried wolf, Bereyter’s initial suicide attempt numbed people to his later signs of depression and eventual death. His connection to and description of nature draws the reader, and Bereyter himself, into believing in his false world of bliss. This false world comes to an end when Bereyter loses his sight and consequently his connection with nature. In Vladamir Nabokov’s essay Good Readers and Good Writers, he defines literature as a place between fantasy and reality. He says: “Literature was born not the day when a boy crying He creates a new world for Paul Bereyter in which it doesn’t matter what’s real or not real; all that matters is Bereyter’s perception of the world. However, he also uses Bereyter’s connection to nature to downplay his ever-advancing depression. “Paul was in any case in the habit of opening the windows wide, even when the weather was bad, indeed even in the harshest cold of winter, being firmly convinced that lack of oxygen impaired the capacity to think” (Sebald 34). What matters to Bereyter is the world around him and his closeness to it. He goes to great lengths to be closer to nature, even spending his time scraping paint off the windows of his classroom so that he and the students could see out. This happens at a point in which Bereyter’s students described him as a mechanical human (35). He uses nature to distract himself when his job becomes too stressful or when life seems too structured. By looking out the windows and feeling the wind on his face, he connects himself to the outside world that he longs to be in. The students see him as he would be if he were in the outdoors and therefore are unable to realize that Bereyter is unhappy and uncomfortable in his current “He not only did not attend church on Sundays, but purposely left town, going as far as he could into the mountains, where he no longer heard the bells” (36). Sebald mentions earlier that he and the other students were often told to pray for Bereyter because he was a “lost soul” (36). It becomes hard for him to control his aversion to the church and he is ostracized because of it. He immerses himself in the mountains to drown out the incessant depression the town causes him. This was not the first time he’d felt that isolation. After being told that he wouldn’t be able to teach, “He experienced that insuperable sense of defeat that was so often to beset him in later times and which, finally, he could not shake off” (49). He had wanted to be a teacher his whole life and being told he wouldn’t be able to be one caused him to stumble deeper into depression. While working as a tutor soon after this time, he lost a substantial amount of weight and appeared sullen and downtrodden. It wasn’t, however, until later that he first tried to commit
The author wrote this story in response to a magazine company, and eventually published it into a book. He used many styles and techniques to describe the life and death of McCandless. The mood throughout the novel constantly varies with the excitement of McCandless’s adventures and the emotions caused by his disappearance. Krakauer’s ability to engage multiple senses of a reader truly makes his novel special.
Humans are creatures of this planet that act in complex ways. A writer’s job is often defined as a way to reveal the complexity of the characteristics of people and to illustrate them. John Steinbeck the author, Of Mice and Men, exemplifies a multitude of characters that have an overall lonely existence. Although most are unhappy, Lennie Small is a warm-hearted, sympathetic man. Lennie has the unfortunate aptitude of carrying out massive destruction in others life’s, even though, it was never intended.
The vision of the mind is easily portrayed through the art of literature, painting a picture with the stroke of words. The natural inspiration that influences the creation of these works is derived from the life and the experiences of the creator. For some, these tales become stories and those stories become novels, but for one man it meant so much more. The works of Edgar Allan Poe became his life; he expressed every feeling and every moment of his existence through ink and paper. Poe involved his entire life in his writing, leaving no element of the story untouched by his trademark of a past. His work became so unique and unorthodox, yet it did not lack the attention it deserved. The American critic, Curtis Hidden Page, suggested that “the essence of his work is logic, logic entirely divorced from reality, and seeming to arise superior to reality” (Quinn 31). The foundation of Poe’s stories seems simple enough, but beneath the surface remains unanswered questions and undiscovered truths, which have yet to be uncovered. The people and experiences throughout Edgar Allan Poe’s lifetime have influenced various themes including: insanity, revenge, death, and guilt which can be distinguished through a collection of his works.
Edgar Allen Poe shows what really happens when someone experiences anxiety and terror that drives his or her mentally ill when given the obstacles inside his mind. The obstacles described inside Tell-Tale Heart bring the narrator to an ironic end. These hindrances slowly build up to a chilling end for the narrator. This end is drawn out with the beating of a heart that doesn’t go away and reminds the narrator that the old man is still haunting him. The narrator has an idea in his head that he is not crazy and in fact is too calm to be mad and has an ironic story behind it.
Emily Dickinson, a transcendentalist author, demonstrates how settings away from society and technology are representations for virtue and individuality. In her poem Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church she writes about how she stays home on Sundays saying, “I keep it, staying at Home/–With a Bobolink for a Chorister/–And an Orchard, for a Dome” (Some Keep the Sabbath going to Church). Dickinson uses objects of nature such as birds and flowers to convey that she loves nature so much she stays away from society. She basks in her natural haven far from a massive stone cathedral and an orthodox way of life. She is at peace in nature but more importantly she follows her own beliefs and ideas, exhibiting her independence. In Ken Kesey’s writing, one such example of a character who prospers greatly in nature is Billy Bibbit, the stuttering patient from Nurse Ratched’s ward. Throughout the first half of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Bibbit fails to show any genuine feelings other than fear due to the immense control the nurse has over his life. However, he finds courage on the expansive open ocean. When on the boat trip there is “a fuss as to who'd be the three that braved that [storm] without [life]jackets... Everybody was kind of surprised [when] Billy...volunteered...and helped the girl right into [his]” (252). Bibbit acts like a hero on the stormy seas, a far different
Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most recognized prose poets, short story authors, and literary composers of all time. His works contain trending themes such as love, time, death and the concept of “oneness.” Poe often expressed these themes according to events that he had experienced, and some of his themes intertwined with others. Take for instance, his love for beauty and perfection played a major role in his concept of oneness, or state of absolute fulfillment. However in his short story, The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe effectively explores the power of guilt, and leads his readers through a cynical plot to murder while enduring the struggle to silence a beating conscience by treading the lines of genius versus insanity, moral reasoning versus indifferent resolution, and meticulousness versus obsession.
Confusion, fear, wonderment, shock and horror—just a few words of many to describe the emotions Edgar Allen Poe’s tales are known to elicit. Critics say that Poe was well ahead of his time in his ability to examine the human psyche and create characters that really make the reader think, if not recoil in horror. One particular theme Poe quite often repeats is that of madness and insanity. He is known for his wonderfully twisted tales involving such characters as an unstable brother with a mysterious ailment (The Fall of the House of Usher,) a methodical murderer (The Tell-Tale Heart,) and an enraged, revenge seeking, homicidal maniac (The Cask of Amontillado.) Through analysis and citations of the tales listed above, in conjunction with the opinions of literary critics, the reader will clearly see the oft repeated theme of madness and insanity hard at work.
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
To the uninitiated, the writing of Flannery O'Connor can seem at once cold and dispassionate, as well as almost absurdly stark and violent. Her short stories routinely end in horrendous, freak fatalities or, at the very least, a character's emotional devastation. Working his way through "Greenleaf," "Everything that Rises Must Converge," or "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the new reader feels an existential hollowness reminiscent of Camus' The Stranger; O'Connor's imagination appears a barren, godless plane of meaninglessness, punctuated by pockets of random, mindless cruelty.
“Into The Wild” by John Krakauer is a non-fiction biographical novel which is based on the life of a young man, Christopher McCandless. Many readers view Christopher’s journey as an escape from his family and his old life. The setting of a book often has a significant impact on the story itself. The various settings in the book contribute to the main characters’ actions and to the theme as a whole. This can be proven by examining the impact the setting has on the theme of young manhood, the theme of survival and the theme of independent happiness.
Wilson, M. & Clark, R. (n.d.). Analyzing the Short Story. [online] Retrieved from: https://www.limcollege.edu/Analyzing_the_Short_Story.pdf [Accessed: 12 Apr 2014].
Edgar Allan Poe is one of America’s most celebrated classical authors, known for his unique dealings within the horror genre. Poe was a master at utilizing literary devices such as point of view and setting to enhance the mood and plot of his stories leading to his widespread appeal that remains intact to this day. His mastery of aforementioned devices is evident in two of his shorter works “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado”.
Greenblatt, Stephen, eds. The Norton Anthology English Literature. 9th ed. Crawfordsville: R.R. Donnelley & Sons, 2012. Print.
The speakers points out to his readers is that nature needs to be appreciated deeper like it was before. The speaker tells his readers that they need to find God behind nature 's abilities. The speaker tells the reader that in the midst of enjoying nature it is forgotten to see God 's power. The speaker only knew of one person who could fully understand nature when he was young. The person who could fully understand nature was Christ. When Christ was born, the earth was focused on him because he is the first and the last. Yet, as a infant he was ignorant to his power and his mission. The speaker starts to wonders if the history of life nature knows will pass by without letting anyone know.. The speaker believes that knowledge of the power behind nature should not to be hidden. The hidden knowledge, is that the beauty of the world is made by God, and within his creation he knows all
Literature is creative writing of recognized artistic value. Literature represents the very best of human expression. We read and celebrate Literature for many reasons. A few of these reasons are,- to be inspired, to be delighted, to embark on incredible ventures and others.