Pastoral Images of Nature

As Oscar Wilde states,î Things are because we see them, and what we see, and how we see it, depends on the Arts that have influenced usî (Oates 465). Social, economic, political, and religious differences dictate the way in which one encounters something. Although nature used to be the ìMotherî of the world, humans now ìcareî for the world. The possession of technology allows this role reversal. However some humans still long for the past world where nature dictated the way of life. In order to pacify human nature's nostalgia for the untainted world, the generations of today try to hold on to the ìlostî organic world via inorganic means.

This generation willingly sacrifices the integrity of organic nature for the comfort and practicality of the synthetic world; however, simultaneously, they want to preserve the organic world. Our nature representations embrace this ironic truth. Ansleyís picture of the sunrise illustrates the longing for the organic. Words such as ìpeace,î ìbeauty,î ì beginnings,î ìrelaxing,î îcalm,î and warmî all describe the scene. Ansley merely appreciates the beauty of the moment and wanted to capture the brilliant colors and scenic calm of the sunrise. Moreover, Ansley notes that she took the picture without people because she wanted tot preserve the purity of the moment without the corruption of humans. She comments that humans almost disturb the peace of the scene. Although the sunrise occurs daily, we look to that picture to escape from out mundane lives. We embrace the sunrise because it offers us a new day full of endless opportunities. Ansley agrees that there is a direct link between what is offered and what is achieved. After viewing the picture, a sense of peace and rejuvenation is realized.

Maria chooses the first picture from her biology book to illustrate nature. Although the biology book explains nature, it offers a different perspective. The picture Maria chooses, like Ansleyís picture, depicts a sunrise; however, Mariaís picture also includes animals. Words such as ìwarm,î ìgold,î ìpeaceful,î and ìpromising,î accurately describe the ìreference domainî of the scene. The biology book offers the reader to take a closer look and learn about how nature works. The link between this picture and the offer is somewhat misleading. While the first picture almost romanticizes nature, the rest of the book dissects and analyzes nature embracing the dichotomy between a romantic nature and a scientific nature. After dissecting and examining nature, the purity and mysteriousness is lost.