“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.”( E.O Wilson, Biologist, Researcher, Naturalist, and an Author.) Nature is a great teacher when you give it a chance. Nature is calming and relaxing. It teaches us life lessons and skills we can’t develop in the city. By nature, you can see the beauty within the ugliest things on this planet. Nature has a way of changing your psychological thoughts. The ideas of nature are a healer and teacher is shown in As You Like It by William Shakespeare, “Living like Weasels” by Annie Dillard , Walden by Henry David Thoreau , and “Urban Renewal”by Major Jackson .
In Shakespeare’s As You Like It, the court is infused with banishment, hatred, jealousy, and
She turns to not so much to learn live but openly to forget about it. She described that she and the weasel visual communication were so strong that “ If you and I looked at each other that way, our skull would split and drop to our shoulders.”(Dillard 2) .She considers that the weasel wild behavior can be a lesson on how we as humans should live our life which leads us to understand the true meaning of freedom. Annie Dillard states that “ The weasel lives in necessity and we live in choice.” she is saying that we are slaves to ideas, the mind, we think too much about the future. We aren 't truly free like the weasel what separate us is that they are true to its instincts. Dillard suggests that we act like a weasel and work to “ Perfect freedom” (Dillard 2) and grasp on our dreams like a weasel bite down on its prey. She includes a story of how the weasel dry skull was gripping on the eagle even after it was dead. Her thoughts and mindset are similar to As You Like It because they both discuss how nature can be a teacher. The weasel thought Dillard how to go after for what you want. She states that “ I think it would be well, and proper,/ to grasp your one necessity and not let it go...till your
Shakespeare, Dillard, Thoreau, avoided the city to find the solution to their problems. In “ Urban Renewal XIII” by Major Jackson gives you an idea why they didn 't find the answer in the city. Major Jackson stated that his grandpa observes the city for “ Forty years from a three-story, / has watched the neighborhood,--postwar marble steps, a scrubbed frontier of Pontiacs lining the curb, fade to a hood....” (Jackson 9-12). The city is full of distraction, violence, and chaos that you won 't be able to find any solution to your problems. Even through all this havoc that is happening in the neighborhood, his grandpa finds peace in gardening. Jackson state “ He pulls a paradise of kale and shakes root-dirt that snaps like a shadow lost in time. Tomato vines coil by a plot of herbs, Far from the maddening caravan of fistfights, jacked-rides, drunkards,....” (Jackson 23-26). This is another example of how nature can bring a person peace even through the urbanest areas. Mother nature gave each author a way out whether it was an escape place, knowledge, love, or the meaning of
In Emerson’s article, Nature, the passage shows great value of how man and nature can be similar. The article shows in many ways how man can represent nature, and how nature can represent everything. Emerson’s Nature can be related to Guy Montag’s journey into nature in Fahrenheit 451, and the author’s ways of showing similarity between man and vegetable can be presented as showing how nature is mixed in with literature and humans.
Perceptions of the natural world have fluctuated throughout humanity’s short time on this earth, going in and out of style as societies and technologies have grown and died. As is the the very nature of literature itself, literature and its authors have managed to capture these shifting views, expressed and illustrated by the art of written word. Naturally, the literature chosen for us to read based on this fluid theme of nature encompasses an array of perspectives. One of these views is that nature is sublime and above all else, a reflection of all that which is perfection. Another is that nature is cold, uncaring, and indifferent to the vanities of humanity.
Moreover, Dillard uses the weasel, as a model to illustrate her belief of living in an environment where choice is not in abundance and the mind is simple. As we reflect on our own human life we actually find a period of time where humans lived much like the weasel in a fight or flight response, this was during the historic caveman days. While it would appear during this historic time period humans had little stress due to limited life choices, they actually had an enormous amount of stress. The stress they endured was similar to the weasel’s survival instinct, where their main focus was to survive from one day to the next. During this time
There is this feeling we all experience when we step away from the chaos of rushing cars, infrastructure, and artificial lights, and we step into nature. Some describe it as bliss, comfort, excitement, pleasure or just pure happiness. This is the answer to the question Paul Bloom asks “Why should we care about nature?” in his article “Natural Happiness.” Paul goes through this process in which he uncovers the fact that “real natural habitats provide significant sources of pleasure for modern humans”, regardless of our need for food, clean water, and air. There are 3 main arguments that Paul makes in this article that I find particularly interesting, they include: “Our hunger for the natural is everywhere. In many regards our species has already kissed nature goodbye, and we are better off for it. There is a considerable mismatch between
"How important is a constant intercourse with nature and the contemplation of natural phenomenon to the preservation of moral & intellectual health. The discipline of the schools or of business—can never impart such serenity to the mind. " ~ Henry David Thoreau, May, 1851
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Nature.” The American Experience. Ed. Kate Kinsella. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. 388-390. Print.
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.
Dillard’s essay delves into the way humans live, and says that we as humans “could live any way we want" (Dillard 66). All Dillard encountered was a mere weasel. An ordinary
In Shakespeare’s play, “As You Like It” incorporates two different settings that take place, in the beginning of the play, the setting takes place in the court and the other takes place in the country, two completely different cultures. The court symbolizes a culture that is full of narcissism, conflict, bitterness, and egotism, creating chaos in everyone’s mind. Everyone in the court seems to be looking out for one’s own agenda and not for the other man. The country symbolizes a place that is mysterious, yet simple and peaceful. It is a place that one can escape from the horrible immoralities of the court life. The country enables the characters to clear their minds of all the ugliness of the court and answers to the heart. By the end of the play, all of the characters who enter the “Forest of Arden” come out renewed and have a clear understanding of where their heart should be.
Nature, written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, is a literary work about natural world and its properties. Nature is divided into an introduction and eight chapters. Emerson defines nature as everything separate from the inner individual. The inner individual meaning the soul. The titles of the eight chapters are: Nature, Commodity, Beauty, Language, Discipline, Idealism, Spirit, and Prospects. In chapter three, Emerson introduces the idea of beauty. Beauty is a part of the natural world and it serves our needs and desires. He makes it clear that beauty is a nobler want of humanity (Emerson, 944). Beauty is not absolutely necessary for the survival of man, but it is beneficial and extremely useful.
Scott, Mark W., ed. "As You Like It." Shakespeare Criticism. Vol. V. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Co., 1987.
To understand the nature-society relationship means that humans must also understand the benefits as well as problems that arise within the formation of this relationship. Nature as an essence and natural limits are just two of the ways in which this relationship can be broken down in order to further get an understanding of the ways nature and society both shape one another. These concepts provide useful approaches in defining what nature is and how individuals perceive and treat
Most of us are aware that spending time in nature is good for us. Not so many, however, can say exactly why this is the case. Although understanding the exact reasons why the natural world can positively influence your general well-being isn’t going to increase the benefit, it might just inspire you to get out there and spend more time in our planet’s very own, natural quality-of-life-enhancer - nature itself. Below, we’ve listed five of these reasons in hope of doing just that…
The power of nature is all around us and can be found almost anywhere. One is able to study nature through experiencing it firsthand, looking at a picture, watching a movie, or even reading a familiar children’s story. I believe that by learning more about nature we can grow closer to God. Emerson states, “Nature is so pervaded in human life, that there is something of humanity in all, and in every particular” (Emerson 508). Like Emerson, I believe that humanity and nature were created by God and we can learn more about the Spirit of God by studying nature. I also see that nature has the power to influence our emotions and actions. I see evidence of this through various landscapes such as the desert, the beach, the mountains and the jungle. I thought about the vastness of the desert during a recent trip to the desert with my class. I think about nature and my love for it when I am scanning through my photo album and see pictures that capture me enjoying the mountains of Utah. When I watched the movie The Beach I was struck out how nature, specifically the beautiful beaches of Thailand, influenced the actions of every character in the movie. Of course it is hard to read a legendary story such as “Jungle Book” and not see what a powerful effect nature and its’ animals can have over humans.
The short story “The White Heron” has a benevolent view of nature and it’s interactions with mankind, as opposed to “The Law of Life” by Jack London. That particular story conveys a message of inevitable death, and an unforgiving nature that demands complete obedience and can only promise one thing to an individual. That they shall meet their impending doom, though none can say where or when. Here, we shall compare and contrast a multitude of different motifs and underlying themes, including the opposition of nature to mankind, the interactions of the protagonists with nature, and the role of the antagonists, whether it is natural or not.