The authors Bradley John Monsma and William L. Fox share many intensions when it comes to human’s expression of nature. In each of their essays there is a main concept of human expansion into nature to seek a new perspective to gain appreciation for the beauty of our surroundings, and to comprehend whether we have a responsibility to step in, but both Monsma and Fox use different tools to provide the reader with this idea. While Monsma uses imagination to get a new perspective on nature Fox goes beyond that and uses a true physical connection with nature. In each essay gaining a new perspective on our surroundings helps us build a better relationship with the environment and each author portrays that using the same idea, but have a different way of proving their point. While in my own experience I found it extremely difficult to just use my imagination to try and find a new perspective on things.
My Definition: Transcendentalism I would define transcendentalism as an overwhelming sense of being independent, by practicing free thought, not being influenced by anything or anybody to make your own decisions, and the serenity of nature being a divine presence in your spiritual well-being. A person who is transcendental should be able to awaken every morning and look outside and see past the everyday outside objects such as the trees or the clouds. This person should be able to feel the calmness and peace that these simple wonders provide. It is almost a curiosity that the observer should experience, with losing themselves in such magnificent elements. When Ralph Waldo Emerson observed nature, he states that, “nothing can befall him in life, no disgrace or calamity, when he is observing nature.” He is speaking of almost being absorbed into nature and becoming a part of it.
In both poems ‘Where I Come From by Elizabeth Brewster’ and ‘Summer Farm by Norman MacCaig’, the author makes a dominant connection between the natural world and mankind by addressing the importance of digging down to your roots, finding your own identity through it and also focusing on how nature alters to fit with your emotional state. In ‘Where I Come From by Elizabeth Brewster’, it concentrates on idea that wherever you come from, you carry a sense of that place in your mind. By trying to convey this message and create the effect of a nostalgic poem, the author had used many techniques such as sibilance, similes, alliteration and metaphors. On the other hand, in ‘Summer Farm by Norman MacCaig’, the author’s central idea is to get across the message that the natural world is created according to the emotions of man. The author tries to put across his thoughts through using techniques such as juxtaposition, introspective perception, recursion, rhyme, assonance and alliteration.
In a letter to Ronald Franz, Chris McCandless writes “the very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure,” a quote that influenced Aron Ralston to spend more of his time in the back country (Krakauer 57). After reading Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Aron Ralston was inspired by Chris McCandless's life; this book greatly affected Ralston's own life. Ralston and McCandless both explored nature to find “encounters with new experiences” (Krakauer 57). They shared a love for the wild, but they lived their lives appreciating nature in different ways. The differences between the two is what makes Ralston a hero and McCandless not.
The use of personification in describing Caliban’s interactions with nature serves to make their interactions more intimate. In the second part of the first stanza, Caliban goes on to describe how he can “[Touch] that other, whom his dam called God”(16) by “…talking to his own self howe’er he please”(15) “…about him”(17). “That other whom his dam dame called god”(16) is a reference to Shakespear’s Tempest, in which Setebos is the mother of Calinban’s god. Caliban’s ability to appreciate the nature that the gods presumably created around him, as well as his willingness to “…[talk] to his own self”(15) “about him”(17) (with “him” referring to Setebos) enables Caliban to “touch”(16), or to reach the same rank as Setebos, even if only Caliban’s own mind. Caliban is “vexed,” or irritated, by his discussion with himself about Setebos, but thinks it’s funny that “Could He but know!”(18) or that Setebos remains clueless to Caliban’s inner feelings about him.
There is no competition within castes because each member receives the same food, housing and soma rationing as everyone else of that caste, so there is no jealousy within the society. There is also no desire to change one’s caste, largely because a person’s sleep-learning teaches that his or her caste is superior to the other four. Since there is no jealousy and competition, Brave New World remains stable and everybody is satisfied with their lives and hence, they are living happily and peacefully. Citizens, however, are living without freedom. Freedom in the society has been sacrificed for what Mustapha Mond calls happiness.
The Semai: Peace is Survival Alex Dragos ANT101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Kimberly Long March 19, 2012 The Semai: Peace is Survival In cultural anthropology there are a lot of different cultures from around the world that are studied. One of the cultures that were studied are the “Semai” people of Malaysia. The Semai are from the Malay Peninsula, in Malaysia, Southeast Asia and live in densely forested central mountains in that area. The Semai of Malaysia are a peaceful foraging horticultural society. They live off of the land and also mastered how to plant and cultivate food as a form of survival.
All in all, “Nature” and “Fate” by Ralph Waldo Emerson share many similarities. However, “Nature” and “Fate” vary because of their portrayals of nature. In “Nature”, the outside forces are shown as very beautiful. For example, “ In the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature” (186). However, the entire first paragraph of “Fate” talks about how “Nature is no sentimentalist-does not cosset or pamper us” (191).
Problems dealing with society, government, natural disasters (nature). Conflicts like these arise daily to many different people, how one decides to deal with it though is what makes them part of the problem or part of the solution. In Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things” the speaker teaches that one should be able to find peace because the world is full of grief’s and pains that everyone must overcome. By using imagery Berry is able to illustrate a picture in the reader’s mind of what it is truly like to find peace within nature. The poem is there to teach the reader how to obtain peace within nature or at least get an idea of how to achieve it.
Artistic Expression of a Culture Kyeisha Dickens Humanities 112-World Culture II Professor Bruce Beard April 25, 2012 How do we value the artistic expression of a culture? Our culture and one’s artistic expression is created when a person or group of people show expression through religion, rituals, art, music, literature and more. An artist is expressing his/her ideas and feelings, with regards to his environment and surroundings. Self-expression has value if not for everyone but at least for the artist because it is the artist's way of communicating with the world. The way we value the artistic expression of a culture can be expressed by how much we learn, use and appreciate other cultures.