Blog Post 1

Thoreau’s “Writing the Wilderness” brings up the idea that writing was becoming as tame, predictable and controlled as the wilderness was. The expansion of society removed the “wild” from both the wilderness and  the days writing.  “Dullness is but another name for tameness” (Thoreau, 23). With the shift from smaller towns to more organized and ‘civilized’ provinces and cities, Thoreau clearly feels like man was shifting from an environment where it was one with nature to one that was less nature ‘aware’ so to speak. With this move away from nature, the writings of the time (as believed by Thoreau) also made a big change. Our increased understanding of science limits our ability to think free and “wildly”. This is strengthened by the increased education of the time. Before, when attempting to explain something like the movement of the sun or the tides of the oceans, people came up with grandiose stories of gods. In Thoreau’s time, people were much more educated and ‘civilized’, and as a result would’t believe things like that. This shift took the ‘wild’ side out of writing. People had become dull in their words because they had become tame in the way they lived their life.

Thoreau is very convincing in his argument. At first glance I wouldn’t have expected a shift to a more civilized society to have an impact on essentially what Thoreau is calling “free thinking.” But after reading he had me convinced. It makes sense that the increased education and civilization could lead to a ‘tame’ or ‘dull’ way of thinking, because the rest of our way of living had become so organized and predictable.

Thoreau, Henry David, “Writing the Wilderness.” Walking. Berkeley, CA: Nature, 1993. Print.

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Blog #1: Portrayal of Wilderness

Annika Lee

AML 2410

 

Henry David Thoreau’s “Writing the Wilderness” ponders on the idea that as time has progressed, the “wildness” that once existed in writing has practically ceased to exist, much like the way wilderness is being taken over by society. Both Henry David Thoreau and Greg Garrard seem to agree that the basis of wildness “is the preservation of the World” (Thoreau, 24) “uncontaminated by civilization” (Garrard, 59). In fact the dictionary definition of wilderness is “an unsettled, uncultivated region left in its natural condition” (American Heritage Dictionary).

Thoreau continually comes back to his belief that “all good things are wild and free” (Thoreau, 24) much like the way manuscripts were once written. Even though we understand more in the ways of science and knowledge, it weighs down our ability to think openly. Mythology is one example he uses. In ancient Greece and Rome myths explained everyday occurrences, such as the weather, with fanciful ideas of powerful peoples living amongst the clouds controlling what happened on Earth. If one were to suggest something like that nowadays, it would be received poorly as an illogical conclusion.

After people started moving to the New World “fancy and imagination were affected with blight” (Thoreau, 24). In his opinion, free was dominated by scientific fact, similarly to wilderness becoming dominated with cities and sophisticated people. People continued to ask “Why?” but ceased to offer explanations that would not be considered “sensible.” He considers works such as those written by Milton, Chaucer and even Shakespeare, who wrote about fairies and other whimsical plot lines, dull. Tame literature has taken over and now “the wildest dreams of wild men…may not recommend themselves to the sense which is most common…today” (Thoreau, 24). Writers need to go back to their roots, where the art first started, free and wild thinking.

 

Works Cited

The American Heritage Dictionary. 4th ed. New York, NY: Dell Pub., 2001. Print.

Garrard, Greg. “Wilderness.” Ecocriticism. London: Routledge, 2004. Print.

Thoreau, Henry D. “Writing the Wilderness.” Walking. 23-25. Print.

 

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Blog #1 Option 2 Discuss the portrayal of wilderness in Thoreau’s “Writing the Wilderness.”

Thoreau’s “Writing the Wilderness” describes literature as inadequately describing wilderness and nature. Thoreau believes that “it is only the wild that attracts” (23) the readers. Are these readers attracted to these works in search of the “wild” and are unsatisfied just like Thoreau finds himself. Thoreau finds wilderness as something untouched by humans and untamed. He list authors of famous literature like Chaucer, Spenser, Milton, and Shakespeare as unable to embody wilderness in their works due to their civilized upbringing even though he describes their work as being great.  He searches for the wilderness that resembles the Western frontier of his time that is vastly uncivilized and wild in these works but is unable to do so and declares them as “breathes no quite fresh and … wild strain”(23). According to Thoreau these works are tamed and cannot embody the wild. This is a very harsh way to view these works that I feel embody the wilderness that Thoreau is looking for. Thoreau views literary works being able to only embody “the elms which overshadow our houses” (24). This speaks to the thought that the writers are educated or tamed and do not know of the nature that they are trying to describe.  This can be true as some writers now do not adventure into the wild to see its beauty but go to the park or garden that is created and shaped by civilization. This gives them a sense of the wild but it is not the free and untamed view of nature that Thoreau describes. This nature or wilderness can only be described as untamed and free yet in order for it to be described it has to come from a civilized person that can write in a way that they embody what they see. Therefore, they are taming the wilderness and constraining it to the limitations of the authors writing.

Works Cited

Thoreau, Henry David, and John Wawrzonek. “Writing the Wilderness.” Walking. Berkeley, CA: Nature, 1993. Print.

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Blog #1-Discuss the portrayal of wilderness in Muir’s “The American Forests” and/or Thoreau’s “Writing the Wilderness.

He Who Wrote the Wilderness

Wilderness, as defined by Merriam-Webster is “an area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community.” (Merriam-Webster) In Henry David Thoreau’s “Writing the Wilderness”, wilderness, as well as nature, is extensively personified, to the extent that each are almost revered as sacred beings, separate from man. Thoreau, author of Walden and a well-known “poet naturalist”, states that, “in Wilderness is the preservation of the World.” (23) Here, Thoreau, much like the Romantic poet William Wordsworth, ambiguously describes how our roots derive from the wild and free wilderness, and here in this untouched and pristine sanctuary we can analyze our humanity pensively and uninterrupted. Thoreau follows in Wordsworth’s path of finding sublimity in the wilderness, unadulterated and immaculately kept from man’s destructive touch. He paints the wilderness not as a place of “trial and danger” as described in scriptural and ancient texts, but as a place of “freedom, redemption, and purity” where we may find ourselves in awe of its understated beauty. (Garrard, 61)

 Thoreau mentions the basic architects of classical English literature and states that works by Chaucer, Spenser, Milton, and even Shakespeare, authors that to many have built perfectly constructed pieces,  “breathe no quite fresh and, in this sense, wild strain” and are “essentially tame and civilized.” (23) He goes on further and remarks, “I do not know where to find in any literature, ancient or modern, any account which contents me of that Nature with which even I am acquainted.” (24) He admittedly discloses that even he can not describe Nature adequately, after substantially criticizing the “tameness” of authors before him. 

Thoreau summarizes the beauty the wide all-encompassing wilderness possesses in one very short, but moving line: “In short, all good things are wild and free.” (24) These small 9 words contain the piece’s main argument: that man has strayed from this original state of being wild and free, and that Nature now remains a separate being from humankind.  The wilderness, once our home, has barred her gates.

 

Works Cited

Garrard, Greg. “Wilderness.” Ecocriticism. London: Routledge, 2004. 59-84. Print.

 

Merriam-Webster. “Wilderness.” Dictionary and Thesaurus – Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 22 Jan. 2012. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wilderness&gt;.

 

Thoreau, Henry David, and John Wawrzonek. “Writing the Wilderness.” Walking. Berkeley, CA: Nature, 1993. Print.

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Instructions for Blog #1

Nature preservationist John Muir with US President Theodore Roosevelt on Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, 1906; Image via Wikipedia

For your first blog response, you have a few different writing options. Choose only ONE of these topics to write your response. Be sure to make it clear which question you chose in the subject line of your post.

1. Write a rhetorical analysis of John Muir’s article “The American Forests.” What is Muir’s purpose in writing this article? What are his main arguments? What strategies does he use to appeal to the reader? How does Muir use the rhetorical triangle (logos, pathos, and/or ethos) to convince the reader of his position? How/where does Muir anticipate and rebut counter-arguments? Do you believe these writing strategies are successful? Why or why not?
2. Discuss the portrayal of wilderness in Muir’s “The American Forests” and/or Thoreau’s “Writing the Wilderness.” For this prompt, you can write about either one author or both authors. Think about the various meanings of wilderness that Garrard describes–do you see any of these definitions at work in Muir and/or Thoreau’s texts? How do each of these authors conceive of wilderness, and what role do humans play in it? If you are writing about both authors, what views do they share and where do they diverge?

Remember, your posts must follow these requirements and guidelines:

• Posts must be at least 300 words.
• Posts must include at least one quote from the text. If you are writing about more than one text, then you’ll need at least one quote from each as support. If the question you chose asks for more than one quote in the instructions above, then be sure to follow those instructions.
• Stay focused on answering the prompt question above. Avoid repeating the question and be as specific as possible in your answer.
• Please note that you do not need to answer every “thinking question” I have posted (the questions after the bold directive). These are just options, so you could focus on one or a few. Avoid writing a response that looks like a Q & A or laundry list of answers to these smaller questions; make sure your response flows smoothly and has unity.
• Your response should make an argument, not summarize the text.
• Use specific moments from the text(s) to support and illustrate your argument.
• Be sure to introduce, quote, cite, and comment on all quotes.
• Don’t forget to tag your posts! Before adding a new tag, check the “choose from the most used tabs” menu to make sure it is not already listed.
• Don’t forget your Works Cited!

Your blog response is due by class time on Monday, January 23rd. Blog comments are due by class time on Wednesday, January 25th.

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