The Carousel Of Destruction In E. M. Forrester's My Wood

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The Carousel of Destruction What lengths do you take to protect your most prized possessions? Perhaps you lock it away in a box -- so that is never seen, or keep it chained to yourself -- so it is understood that you will not part with it, or place a deafening alarm on it -- to warn any who venture too close that it is securely locked. Although we take such lavish gestures to protect our treasures, we easily discard them for something better and are constantly trying to improve that which we still possess. E.M. Forrester describes the obsession human kind has toward their material possessions in his essay “My Wood.” He describes the possession of property as making him “feel heavy,” however; he yearns for more of it (399). We, as a culture,…show more content…
He speaks of the “public footpath which traverses” his wood and how the travelers depreciate the value it holds with trash and picking of blueberries (400). This obsession to protect our belongings, although necessary at times, is an extravagant display to showcase our ‘ownership’. People who possess large homes surround them with 10 foot tall walls that engulf every inch of their property in order to protect them from the outside world. This enclosure declares to the world that this is mine and you will not enter uninvited! “A boundary protects. But -- poor little thing -- the boundary ought in its turn to be protected. . . . A little more, and then a little more, until we reach the sea,” here Forrester tells us how our nature to protect can become so outrageous that we would build a wall for our wall to prevent trespassers…show more content…
This statement frightens me personally because we are actively passing this mentality of selfishness to our future generations. We will, ultimately, destroy ourselves and the environment around us with this vicious cycle. An example of this cycle applied to our own well-being is obesity. We have the means to be healthy but continue the cycle of possession, greed, and inability to be content and destroy our body from the inside out. If we can end this cycle with small things -- such as meaningless possessions, we should be able to apply them to the things that will make the biggest impact on our future -- like Global warming. Next time you find yourself in a situation to make a choice of repeating the cycle or, finally, getting off this destructive carousel ride -- Which will you

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