In Michael Pollen’s The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World, there are consistent contrasts between the world today and the world of Ancient Greece. His comparison between the disorder of Dionysus and the order of Apollo in nature emphasizes the importance of plants’ ability to satisfy human desire as well as the reciprocal. It is not a singular organism that influences one or the other; plants influence animals as we influence them. However, through our desire for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control, humans have created a cycle in which our wants affect plants’ evolution and plants’ ways of life control our way of life. While conducting research for his book, Pollen grew genetically modified potatoes, called NewLeafs, …show more content…
Pollen claims that natural selection was likely to favor the flower that had “an astonishing array of devices—visual, olfactory, and tactile” (69) to attract the attention of mammals, insects and birds. This attraction leads to greater fitness of the tulip population and adaptations that appeal to mobile organisms. According to Pollen, this strive for perfect Apollonian order only lasts for so long until the “Dionysian pull of things as they really are” (99) begins to overrule. For example, instead of creating clones to reproduce, tulips are pollinated when bees cover themselves in pollen, thus distributing the flowers’ genes. In another comparison to Greek mythology, Pollen claims the bees are to Odysseus’s crew as the flowers are to Circe (72). The sorceress put the crew under a spell for her own benefit similar to the way the flowers lure the bees in order to “effectively [disseminate] the flower’s genes” (70) and …show more content…
Pollen mentions an unpredictable windstorm at the Apollonian unchaotic Versailles garden ruining many centuries-old paintings to draw out the possibility that a “less emphatically ordered” (184) and Dionysian garden structure could have prevented the destruction of such valuable artifacts. This conclusion highlights the distinct link between disorder and stability. As seen in the microbiome unit, large amounts of disturbance cause instability in ecosystems. The same is true for a complete absence of disturbance. However, an intermediate amount of disturbance leads to the most stable environment because the organisms are able to learn and adapt to these new occurrences. An “invitation to a new disorder” (185) is what allows for the middle ground between the two extremes of disturbance to be possible, thus permitting the greatest stability. A community with many disturbances, such as a person who washes his hands too frequently, can be a parallel to the “garden’s perfect geometries” (184) without any disorder. Similarly, the introduction of a single pathogen causes the person to become very ill because he doesn’t have the necessary microbes to fight the pathogen due to the frequency of disturbance. The community is completely without fault meaning that one minor disruption in the order causes the devastation of the entire community, which was true at Versailles. Therefore, this suggests that
From the beginning, the researchers’ crowd is described as a mass of insects, “[swarming]” and creating a “vibrating, ionic movement” (232). The use of visual and kinetic imagery ingeniously inspires the readers and immediately sets up the principal analogy of humans acting like social insects in an organism. Likewise, the “blackening” of the soil by “[fumbling] and [shoving]” ants as they collaboratively build the nest enhances the text by increasing the reader’s interest (233). Moreover, the termite nest’s “architecture” may impress some readers, as the enthusiastic author glorifies the “artists” that erect “beautiful, curving, symmetrical arches” of the nest (234). The comparison of mankind with insects then seems obvious (or acceptable for unwilling readers), since similes successfully picture appealing images in our brain of the organism’s impressive effectiveness.
The theme of the book as it relates to the American Dream is those who take advantage by becoming covetous and acquisitive. The Clutters in this book are described as the ideal American Dream family. Herb Clutter is the head man of the house who makes sure that his family and financial situations are in order. Herb started off with a struggle but eventually worked hard to become the man he became. Even though they were viewed as a rich family toward the community they did have underlying issues that weren’t visible to the outside world. Dick and Perry on the other hand are those who were unable to achieve the American Dream so they were willing to do anything to become successful the easy way even if that means stealing from others. They
Freudian Analysis of Marigolds Most of the time there is a moment in life where one realizes they have lost all innocence and gained some compassion. “Marigolds” shows how one young girl transferred from a child to a young adult through her life experiences. Throughout this story, another young, but at the same time old in her prime, lady’s experiences are revealed: the author’s. In this short story, “Marigolds,” Eugenia Collier’s subconscious is unmasked through symbolism, diction, and Elizabeth’s actions.
(12.196) Without Circe’s warning, he would have been drawn into the song and perished. The food of the Lotus-eaters, like the song of the Sirens, causes those who eat it to forget everything they know. Those who ate the fruit had to be bound to the ship, like Odysseus must be tied to the mast in order to bypass the Sirens .... ... middle of paper ...
So who has been manipulating who? The tulip in its part has given us the desire of beauty, while we in turn select for the most beautiful. We have instead been living a relation of co-evolution as explained by Pollan. Nomadic hunters relied on distinguishing flowers to get to future fruits before others. Also the vibrant colors tulips produced genetically, favored us to choose certain strains. Flowers in some way have been domesticating us to choose their strains. Plants related their flowers beauty to successive reproduction and thus evolved its flower to adjust to human desire. Flowers indeed have manipulated humans to fit their pollination needs.
The first bee simile appears during Aeneas’ initial impression of the lively city of Carthage. The citizens of which are hard at work, engaged in a variety of tasks to improve the quality of the city. Virgil notes this, characterizing their labor as “feverish” (I,423). Virgil’s
Diop’s Theory also claims that these early molds had permanent effects on the two civilizations which have endured until the present
The first images of the garden are seen through the exaggerated imagination of a young child. “” are as “ as flowers on Mars,” and cockscombs “ the deep red fringe of theater curtains.” Fr...
Heinrich Heine a German poet also shares the title as a romantic poet invoking emotions throughout his stanzas. The Silesian Weavers, in each three translations describes the turmoil that the Germans endured. Heine focused on the entire aspect of Germany in his poem including the sorrow of those who wept, the faith of those who had been shattered, and the cities gloom that surrounded the country. The country had found itself embedded in despair and so many unfortunate events that it felt as if the plants could not bloom properly and nature just shut down completely. As I stated in the discussion board I found all three translations to be very well written translations, but overall preferred the one translated by Sasha Foreman.
There is a destructive nature of man is shown in Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon through the absence of family. Sci...
People are not perfect. Each and every one of us has flaws that make us who we are. Authors show this in their writings through their characters. Every character in a piece of literature has a flaw, whether it is self-deprecation, arrogance, laziness, too judgmental, et cetera. Protagonists from the short stories “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, and “Marigolds” by Eugenia W. Collier all share the common flaw of selfishness. This is shown through their interactions with other characters, their words/thoughts and or their intentions.
The final plan of the garden by Le Nôtre was decided in 1668. The major axis of the gardens was traced following the sun path from east to west (Figure 7). This is also associated with Louis, expressing how his power as the Sun king is over nature. The axis created a great perspective going from the Water Parterre and finish at the Grand Canal. Similarly, a secondary perspective going from north to south orientation, from the Neptune Fountain and finished at the Swiss Pool (Figure 7). Along these two axes, fourteen groves are planted with palisades of clipped bushes bounded around it. Both the site layout of Versailles and the gardens are associated with the sun in some aspects. Consistently, both of them have the same implication of the king’s power over nature and the absolute monarchy of Louis.
The image of seductresses is a recurring motif in The Odyssey. These women are a temptation to Odysseus. They attempt to keep Odysseus from accomplishing his goal: his homecoming. Circe is a bewitching goddess. She entices Odysseus’ crew into her palace with her enchanting voice. However, after she feeds them, she promptly turns them into pigs. Circe also succeeds in enticing Odysseus; he stays with her one year as her lover. It is so long that his crew declares that it is “madness” (326). They say that it is “high time” that Odysseus thinks of his homeland (326). Later on, Odysseus and his crew encounter the sirens. Knowing the danger they pose, Odysseus has all his men’s ears stopped up with wax. However, Odysseus wishes to hear their song; so he asks his crew to tie him to the mast. The song of the sirens is so sweet and enticing. Their “ravishing voices” almost make Odysseus forget his desire to return home (349). His heart “throbbed” to listen longer; he signals for his men to let him go free. The grea...
Flowering plants have two main reproductive parts; the male part is called the stamen and produces pollen, while the female part is called the pistil. For pollination to occur, the pollen must be transferred from the stamen to the pistil. This transfer can occasionally be caused by wind, but it is most often facilitated by animals called pollinators. Pollinators do not intentionally set out to fertilize flowers; rather, they unintentionally spread pollen while roaming from plant to plant in search of food. There are many different species – including birds, butterflies, and bats – that act as pollinators, and many of these species are also suffering declines in population. However, honeybees are the most pr...
All dramatic productions feature the elements of drama. Following a viewing of the scene ‘Someone’s crying’ from the 1993 movie ‘The Secret Garden’ three of the elements of drama have been assessed. Role, character and relationships have been utilised in ‘The Secret Garden’ to create anxiety and suspense, enticing the viewer to solve the mysteries the Secret Garden presents. The protagonist in the scene is a young girl, around the age of ten who during the night leaves her room to explore her residence. The protagonist narrates the scene; she begins by stating that the ‘house seems dead like under a spell’. This makes the viewer anxious and fearful for the safety of our young protagonist. The protagonist is brave. She pushes open a door and