How to “Live” “Take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs, look around” (Abbey 233). Embracing nature is the main idea in both Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey and Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey is an autobiography based on Abbey’s experiences as a park ranger at Arches National Monument and it was published in 1968. Walden by Henry David Thoreau is about Thoreau’s life in the woods, and it was published 1854. Although written more then a century apart from one another, both Thoreau and Abbey develop a philosophy of leaving society behind and living a more deliberate life through experiencing the wilderness in their works. However, Thoreau’s definition of living a deliberate life is based on …show more content…
When talking about his experiences in nature, Thoreau says, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach” (Thoreau 1032). Thoreau talks about his experiences of going into nature in order to live a better life. He believes that nature can teach you how to live a better life. Nature serves simply as a guiding tool to living a deliberate life and being a healthier human. In contrast, Abby says, “For God sake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs, look around; throw away those goddamned idiotic cameras!” (Abbey 233). Abbey wants the readers to completely surrender themselves to nature. He believes that the people visiting the park are oblivious to the nature in front of them. Abbey wants it to be known that society and the technologies of the modern world aren’t really important. The reader should just throw away what they have and return to nature. After reading Thoreau through the lens of Abbey, it is evident that the end goals of both authors are completely different. Thoreau’s end goal is to live in society with the strong influence of nature guiding the way. He believes that nature is the means to the end of a healthier human who still lives in society. Abbey’s does not …show more content…
When describing the attractions of a property he says, “its complete retreatment, being about two miles from the village, half a mile from the nearest neighbor, and separated from the highway by a broad field” (Thoreau 1024). Thoreau’s new home is two miles from the nearest town. Two miles isn’t extremely far away, but it isn’t significantly close either. His careful and deliberate planning allows him to be just the right distance from civilization while still experiencing nature. By acquiring a property two miles out of town, he is taking advantage of he fact that his house is in nature but still accessible to society. On the other hand, Abbey says, “let them out of the car, let them go scrambling over the rocks hunting for rattle snakes and scorpions and anthills- yes sir, let them out, turn them loose” (Abbey 233). Abbey wants the people visiting to be clueless and reckless He believes that people are taking what nature has so kindly offered them for granted. He practically begs the people to completely abandon society and live, live amongst the wilderness. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, and anthills are very dangerous, and children are very naïve. By letting children loose over the rocks with all the dangers near by, Abbey is practically calling for nature to take advantage of the children. When reading Thoreau
In conclusion, by temporarily removing himself from society and thrusting himself into nature, we are better able to understand how Thoreau conveys his attitude towards life. He believes that in order to enjoy it one must free himself or herself from the high-tempo nature of society, live life more simplistically, and experience the reality that is hidden by all the things that are irrelevant in our
Nature for McCandless was something he knew very well, for he had been since he was small, always wanting to climb higher. When at home, he felt trapped and the wild served as a cleansing power for him. When arriving to alaska, McCandless wrote a declaration of independence, as Krakauer puts it, writing “Ultimate freedom. . . . Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return , ‘cause ‘the west is the best’”(163). McCandless felt like he had no home,so he made nature his own. Similarly, Thoreau explains, “i found myself suddenly neighbors to the birds; not by having imprisoned one, but having caged myself near them . . . to those smaller and more thrilling songsters of the forest”(9). Thoreau cherished nature and the endless possibilities it contained. Likewise, Thoreau 's house was a place in which he “did not need to go outdoors to take the air for the atmosphere within had lost none of its freshness”(9) This allowed Thoreau stay in touch with the wilderness without feeling captive in his own home. Both Thoreau and McCandless were attracted by nature and the clarity, freedom can bring to one’s
As Henry is working for Waldo, he will take care of Edward who’s his son. After doing so one day, Henry is placed a very uncomfortable situation where Edward asks his mother Lydian if Henry could be his new father. Lydian then starts to want Henry gone but wants to do so by finding him a nice woman to settle down with. She tells him that and he says “you want to be a matchmaker, Lydian? Find me something innocent and uncomplicated. A shrub-oak. A cloud. A leaf lost in the snow” (Lawrence and Lee 78). By saying this Henry’s showing how he favors nature and its beauty. Adding to that, the teachings that Henrys share with others show the importance of nature. This is seen when Henry is trying to get Emily to see the fact that there’s more to Transcendentalism than being a tree-hugger and to look at nature to see its beauty. He explains this to her by telling her “what is a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on? Did you know that trees cry out in pain when they’re cut? I’ve heard them” (Lawrence and Lee 34). With this being said, Henrys explaining that in order to have a nice place to live, nature has to be taken care of. Overall, The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail focuses on the importance of
In his journal, Thoreau muses upon twenty years of changes in New England’s land and beasts. He lists the differences in plants and animals, comparing them to past accounts and descriptions. He questions if the growing human presence has resulted in “a maimed and imperfect nature.” Cronon believes that this is an important question to consider. He points out that although changes do happen in nature, it is not so easy to determine how they changed. He is also not sure if Thoreau’s description of “a maimed and imperfect nature” is the correct way to refer to ecology, since it is by its essence, a fluid system of changes and reactions. Cronon does not deny the impact of
Both Thoreau and McCandless had a deep appreciation for solitude in nature. In Walden, Thoreau explains how he’d “... love to see Nature that is so rife with life that myriads can be afforded to be sacrificed and suffered to prey on one another; that tender organizations can be so serenely squashed out of existence..” (Thoreau, Walden 238). While being on his “adventure”, Thoreau was able to observe all of the little things in nature, and appreciate all of the little things. While in civilization, one would not be able to notice such things because there are much too many people around to notice. While on his journey, McCandless “No longer.
He is unable to understand why they can’t leave nature alone. His frustration stems from the fact that so much valuable land is being destroyed, to accommodate the ways of the lazy. It seems as though he believes that people who are unwilling to enjoy nature as is don’t deserve to experience it at all. He’s indirectly conveying the idea that humans who destroy nature are destroying themselves, as nature is only a mechanism that aids the society. In Desert Solitaire Abbey reminds the audience, of any age and year of the significance of the wild, enlightening and cautioning the human population into consciousness and liability through the use of isolation as material to ponder upon and presenting judgments to aid sheltering of the nature he
In Thoreau’s excerpt of “Walden”, he writes about moving to the forest to live in a cabin. He gets away from the busy world around him and secludes himself to nature. While living out in the forest, Thoreau would take the time to enjoy the beauty of nature and come back to the cabin and write about it. In Emerson’s excerpt of “Nature”, he writes about the relationship of humans and nature.
Both Thoreau and Emerson teach us, who live in a more narrowed and often polluted nature, to get rid of our false sense of control and superiority that is influenced by the contemporary trends and culture. They want us to discover our proper ethical and spiritual place in nature. We must remind ourselves now and then that we are not crucial to nature's health, yet our capacity to destroy the nature is growing and becoming more violent. The best of our human tendency, though, depends on our fostering behavior, caring and respectful relationships with the nature that provides us with so many beautiful resources. We are liable to serve the nature for it serves and cater our lives in return. That is wisdom beyond eternity.
While Emerson never truly factored his transcendentalist ideals into his daily life, Thoreau made a point out of living out his days as a man free from society and connected to nature. In 1846, he refused to pay his poll tax to the government because he believed the war was unjust and did not want to support the government. In doing this, he showed that he remains strong in his own beliefs and will not agree with something just to conform to society. He also showcases Emerson’s philosophy on learning by forming beliefs based on his own life and morals, which were based in nature, receiving instruction from Emerson’s ideas on self-reliance, and taking action against something he believes is unjust. In an excerpt from one of Thoreau’s books, he says, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (Thoreau 16). What he is saying through this is that he wants to evaluate himself in the context of nature and understand what life is like in its purest and fundamental form. He hoped to gain a knowledge of the world and explore what nature had to offer and learn from his experience. Also, Thoreau is letting his readers know that connecting with nature is essential in finding yourself and
Thoreau went into the woods for many different reasons than McCandless. He decided to live in the woods so he could live deliberately. He desired to learn what life had to teach him and face only the essential facts of life without any other distractions. Going into the woods, would let him know that he had lived, so when he died, he wouldn’t regret never fully living. He wanted to figure out if this life in nature was mean or sublime. If it was mean, he hoped to publish his findings to the world, but if it was sublime, he would just know this knowledge and use it for his next excursion. Thoreau heavily believed in simplicity. He felt everything should be simplified, and that people were squandered by details. As he said, “ Simplicity, simplicity,
Thoreau decided to go to the woods in order to avoid the social distractions of society and to find the real meaning of living life. He makes this idea very clear in the beginning of the book on pages 4 and 5 where he sees the problems in the world. He speaks
The opening paragraph is an incredibly vivid account of nights spent by “the stony shore” of Walden Pond. His description of the animals around the pond, the cool temperature, and the gentle sounds of lapping waves and rustling leaves all serve to remove the idea that nature is a wild and unkempt world of its own, and instead makes it seem much more serene and graceful. Any who thought of Thoreau as an insane outdoorsmen may have even found themselves repulsed by the monotony and constant bustle of city life and longing for the serenity felt by Thoreau. This
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.
Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness is an autobiographical narrative written by naturalist Edward Abbey. Abbey composed the account based on his personal experiences as an employee for the United States Park Service at Arches National Monument in Utah. Abbey’s anecdotal account is nonlinearly comprised of occupational experiences and renditions of the region’s folklore. These illustrations analogous because they exhibit related themes and trends associated with the author’s experiences and beliefs.
The main element of “Why I Went to the Woods” is nature and to live without distractions. In order for Thoreau to be able to do this, he went into the woods to be one with nature to make sure he was not missing what was really important. Thoreau presents his point by stating, “I wanted to live deep and suck out the marrow of life, to live so sturdily” (Thoreau 579). Thoreau wanted to live deep within nature, to take in all nature has to offer, and to get a deeper understanding of his own life. We all have an opportunity to have the same tranquility as Thoreau. Nature is one of the greatest gifts that is given to us freely. We could all have a deeper fulfillment by consuming the same peacefulness in our own mind and souls that Thoreau had. The society we live in today is complex and very dependent, opposite of the life that Thoreau had wanted to live. You do not need to have material items to have a fulfilled life, but a fulfilled spirit. We as a society have become greedy and selfish