Thoreau's Ideologies of the Natural

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Darryl Smith Prof. Malachuk English 532 21 Oct. 2011 Thoreau's Ideologies of the Natural and Albert Bierstadt's The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, 1863 Albert Bierstadt (American, 1830–1902) Native Americans in their natural surroundings are introduced in Albert Bierstadt's portrayal of The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak. This portrait shows a direct relationship with Henry David Thoreau's sense of an intellectual and spiritual enrichment of nature, which is also demonstrated by the Native American customs. Bierstadt's painting catches the essence of Thoreau's life works. I will identify two ways Bierstadt and Thoreau are similar in their representations of Indians: one, in the Indians themselves, two in the relation of Indians to water. Thoreau's imagination, or enlightenment from the Indian, is in these two ways visualized in Bierstadt's The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak. My argument is complicated. Therefore, I would describe the steps taken in order to logically explain my argument. First, a methodological problem must be addressed. Second, Thoreau's educational background is extremely valuable. In the Third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs, I introduce Bierstadt's history and westward traveling experiences, which are particularly needed, because each show how he managed to capture the essence of Native American's relationship to nature, and why. In the sixth paragraph, I propose Thoreau's main interest. In the seventh paragraph, I present the first comparison with Thoreau and Bierstadt which is Pantheism. In the eighth paragraph, I connect Pantheism to Thoreau's main interest. In the ninth paragraph, I study part of Thoreau's Maine Woods collection in order to evaluate his wilderness, Pantheism, and enlightenment. And to point out an unfair criticism by Papa Jr. In the 10th paragraph, I introduce Joe Polis and

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