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nature in american literature
role of nature in modern literature
theme of nature in poetry
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Recommended: nature in american literature
Nothing is able to affect us more than other people. Spreading of opinions, knowledge, and even diseases will teach us easily what is right, or what is wrong. However, what we humans teach is not always “right.” We are taught that we are the best species. We are taught that we are bigger, better, and stronger than anything else that walks on this Earth. We are taught that we are always right, and anything else is always wrong. Yet, there is something in all of us that tells us undoubtedly that we are no better, if not lower, than what has long been here before us. Our instincts are often not to kill, but to admire. A part of what is inside our brains wants to take in all of the nature and wildlife, soak it in and allow it to remain untouched. Even so, we are unfazed. No matter how caught up in the natural world, another part of us is screaming to destroy, to enforce our superiority. And does this voice not scare us? “Snake” by D.H. Lawrence portrays one poet’s admiration for nature, struggle with society, and fear of himself, as he loses his chance with one of the Lords of Life.
Our entire lives, we are taught that not only are we the best, but that everything else is the worst. If it is not a human, it is dangerous and must be annihilated. The poet in “Snake” begins his experience with the snake fairly peacefully, however this quickly turns on him. Everything the poet had been taught was telling him that nothing is more dangerous than a yellow-bellied snake, and that he should exterminate the animal completely. He refers back to a time in Sicily, when he had actually been taught this.
On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking.
The voice of my education said to me
He must be killed,
For in Sicily the black, black snakes are...
... middle of paper ...
...” (Lawrence 51-53). The use of the word “overcame” solidifies his lack of control and only reinforces the proof of the fear he must have of himself.
How can one live with oneself after displaying such a clear lack of respect. The poet begins with honor and dignity, allowing the snake to drink first and admiring it’s beauty, and ends in despair, regret and a fear of himself. D.H. Lawrence expresses in this poem the clear conflict inside the poet. He is unable to decide, through the poem, whether or not to be a man, or be himself. “Snake” forces readers to think about where they’ve been, and how they’ve acted. This poem leaves one imposing question on all of us: How afraid of yourself are you?
Works Cited
Nicole. An analysis of Snake, by D.H. Lawrence. n.p., 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 May. 2014.
Waliyullah. Snake by D.H. Lawrence. n.p., 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 12 May 2014.
The bond between humans and nature, it is fascinating to see how us has humans and nature interact with each other and in this case the essay The Heart’s Fox by Josephine Johnson is an example of judging the unknown of one's actions. She talks about a fox that had it's life taken as well as many others with it, the respect for nature is something that is precious to most and should not be taken advantage of. Is harming animals or any part of nature always worth it? I see this text as a way of saying that we must be not so terminate the life around us. Today I see us a s experts at destroying most around us and it's sad to see how much we do it and how it's almost as if it's okay to do and sadly is see as it nature itself hurts humans unintentionally
Over centuries, humankind has searched for the line where positive and negative influence over nature intersect. “The Rattler”, a tale of a man and a rattlesnake who cross paths in the desert, deals with this very question. The individual is at first cautious of the snake, thinking it best to leave the dangerous creature alone. But at the thought of the nearby neighbors, he takes it upon himself to kill it, and then continues on into the night. The author uses comparison, diction and personification in “The Rattler” to promote sympathy for both characters: the snake and the man.
Beattie expresses the how the man felt about the snake and the community that he wanted to protect. In paragraph 4, “I have never killed an animal I was not obliged to kill… But I reflected that there were children, dogs, horses at the ranch, as well as men and women lightly shod; my duty…kill the snake…” Beattie is expressing the mans feelings about killing and how the mans character prevented him from killing. In addition to the mans character, Beattie adds in the factor to obtain sympathy for the man’s actions by listing all the characters that the man is protecting through his “courageous” actions. In the 7th paragraph, “I did not cut the rattles off for trophy; I let him drop into the close green companionship of the paper-bag bush…” Beattie expresses the self guilt that the man had about killing the snake to tell readers about the man’s original
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.
The snake was not aware of the man’s intentions was cautious but not yet preparing for an attack. The rattlesnake “lay ridged” through its mistrust of the man did not feel threatened so his “body was undulant” not preparing for an attack. Because of its natural instincts the snake was wary of the man’s presence but did not feel provoked enough to set up a defense. The usual instincts would have been to give a strong attack but choose not to do so. Still attentive to the man’s possible actions, the snake presents him with a warning for both their sake. Therefore as the man raised his weapon the snake set up its rattling and “shook his fair but furious signal” warning the man he “made an unprovoked attack”. The snake had not planned on attacking the man so instead of reacting swiftly the snake had given the man a warning. By doing so the snake shows its value of life because he left the man chance in avoiding an outcome with death for either side. Consequently having misjudged the man’s intent it is left with little time to protect itself from an unexpected attack. With the man suddenly attacking the snake with a hoe it “struck passionately” until it “was soon dead”. As a result of not being able to assemble an attack the snake is left with it’s only chance of winning by striking hard but with ineffective moves. Thus readers feel sympathy for the snake because it had not called for an attack that would have taken either
This adds to the reader’s sympathy because he didn’t provoke the man’s attack and did nothing to deserve what happened to him. He was punished despite being completely innocent. Though the snake does not pose a direct threat, he is an extremely powerful creature and a great asset to the beauty of nature. He “felt no necessity of getting out of anybody’s path,” showing his confidence in himself. Though he is confident, he is not arrogant. He does not cower at the sight of the man, nor does he try to threaten him. He simply stands his ground confidently, waiting for the man to dictate his next move. This trait of the snake causes the reader to respect him and appreciate his position of power, reinforcing their sympathetic feelings. The snake’s death was slow and painful, and the author described all of the gruesome details in order to further affect the reader. The man himself admits that “it was a nasty sight”. First, he hacked about in the paper bag bush until he “dragged
Human beings are prideful creatures, and we have good reason to be. We have subdued a planet, changed the course of rivers, watered deserts, written poetry to make angels cry, and wrapped the world in a network of electric impulses and digital displays. We have created and killed not one but many gods. We can make a cloud rain by shooting heavy metal into it, and we can create a lake by pouring concrete in a canyon and damming a river. Most days, it seems that we human beings have everything under control and that if we miss wild nature, well, we can grow it in our gardens. (We can even genetically engineer the plants and animals.) Every so often, however, the universe spins out of our control. Forest fires rage. The earth quakes. Chaos descends like a great modern Zeus hurling thunderbolts and reminding us that nature is not ours to manipulate. In a great universe shaped by raw power and force, human beings are only small, easily crushed, organic structures. We need the reminder. Chaos and destruction are nature’s great gift to human kind because the realization of our frailty and insignificance leads to enlightenment. We learn something about ourselves, how we are here, where we want to go, and what we have to say about it.
In Respect for Nature, Paul Taylor develops the following four elements of the biocentric outlook on nature:
The sight of the snake is so heartbreaking that even the man is left to rethink
This idea is expressed prominently in John Foulcher’s For the Fire and Loch Ard Gorge. For the Fire entails a journey of someone collecting kindling as they witness a kookaburra kill a lizard, Foulcher represents his idea through the use of metaphor, “a kookaburra hacks with its axe-blade beak.” This metaphor represents the beak in weaponised form, as it is compared with a violent axe. This evokes a sense of threat and intimidation towards the kookaburra, which contrasts to societies general interpretation of the ‘laughing kookaburra,’ thereby challenging the reader's perceptions of beauty in the natural world. Also, this comparison of the kookaburra offers a second understanding for the readers to interpret of the kookaburra. Similarly, in Loch Ard Gorge, Foulcher uses strong visual imagery, “savage dark fish are tearing their prey apart, blood phrasing the water decked with light,” to communicate the violence of the ‘savage’ fish to readers in a visual, gruesome manner. Thereby evoking a feeling of disgust towards the situation, as a visual description of blood is shown and Foulcher uses provoking, gruesome adjectives to communicate the fish's brutality. Foulcher expresses these ideas to communicate the abilities of nature, and provide a necessary ‘reality check’ for the readers, to review the beauty they see nature and understand the barbarity at the heart of everything. Although ruthlessness and brutality that nature can show are unintentional and immoral, this harm is a large part of the cycle nature needs to survive and thrive, and these factors can counteract assumed beauty and
“Snakes” is focused around the marriage of a middle aged couple. Every year, the couple writes down their grievances, they read them and they burn them (McCorkle 166). The couple hit a dark patch in their relationship. They called this “The Dark Ages” (McCorkle 166). During this time they were angry with each other and had to face many problems between them. “The Dark Ages” was the dive they took. It made them appreciate the lighter, more easygoing times in their relationship. By knowing what it was like to go through such a arduous time, it was easier for the couple to overlook the smaller things instead of making a big deal of them. That dive into the darker parts of their marriage gave them a balance to the lighter times. It gave their marriage depth and meaning.
The poems, "The Bull Moose" by Alden Nowlan, "The Panther" by Rainer Maria Rilke, "Walking the Dog" by Howard Nemerov, and "The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop, illustrate what happens when people and nature come together, but the way in which the people react to these encounters in these poems is very different. I believe that when humans and nature come together either they clash and conflict because individuals destroy and attempt to control nature, which is a reflection of their powerful need to control themselves, or humans live peacefully with nature because they not only respect and admire nature, but also they can see themselves in the nature.
Lawrence uses figurative language in order to present his ideas of societies expectations of a man. Lawrence changes the structure and style of “Snake” in order to highlight the struggles of the narrator. Specifically, when writing about the snake he uses repetitive and flowing words. He also uses traditional devices like alliteration, for example “and flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips.” The use of these technics gives the snake an almost human like feel that the reader can connect to. At the same time, Lawrence writes about the log used to hurt the snake in a different style creating such a contrast between the snake’s description and the log. The words describing the log are much different, “and threw it at the water trough with a clatter.” The changing styles helps emphasize the internal struggle the narrator is experiencing as he tries to figure out if he should do as society dictates and kill the snake like a man or do as he wishes and leave the snake in peace as his guest at the water
An asp bite creates a particularly awkward, excruciating death. The asp venom causes blood poisoning and an intense burn at the site of the wound. This burning is quickly forgotten, however, as the bite victim fades into a state of giddiness accompanied by nausea and extreme thirst. Blood clots form as the skin becomes speckled with purple spots, and there is usually a considerable amount of swelling. The victim then goes into convulsions, vomiting, urinating, and defecating uncontrollably (Hughes-Hallet 106). This is not a death suitable for a Queen, let alone Queen Cleopatra. Nonetheless, writers throughout history have designated the asp to be Cleopatra's suicide weapon. Her death is described as either an ecstatic orgasm or a serene slip into eternal slumber. Analyzing her death with an eye for accuracy, we can see that it is highly unlikely that Cleopatra would have chosen to kill herself with an asp. "Asp" is an imprecise term, which referred to many various African vipers, all of which would have left her corpse looking less than beautiful. The death that Cleopatra is described to have experienced resembles the death caused by a cobra sting, not an asp bite. A cobra would have had to be at least four feet long to excrete enough venom to kill Cleopatra and her two maids (Hughes-Hallet 107). Since writers have taken liberties with their descriptions of Cleopatra's death scene, representing the asp in various ways, we should ask, "What does the snake symbolize in Cleopatra's suicide, and how does this representation affect the overall portrayal of the Queen and her suicide?"
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.