“My imagination was shaped by the marvelous nature of mountains in a cold Olympic peninsula; by the sound of birds in the feather of cotton cloud , by the tactile sensation of serene earth, became warm when the sun appear; by ranges of cattails, mapel, and pretty towns piled beside a gorgeous lake at dawn; by encountering the earthy from flower gardens at the edge of the sidewalk; by the aftermath of a Pacific NorthWest rain pouring a dry, rough land.” This example of mine shows how important that a place helps me to shape my imagination and feeling. Many people may not think that a regional detail plays a very important role in our life. In reality, regional detail is one of the greatest factors that shapes human identity, personality and …show more content…
imagination of human. As well as in literature, a regional detail is a tool that help to shape an imagination of a reader and helps a reader in approaching to a theme.
In the late 80s, Barry Lopez has published his essay called “A literature of place”. He wrote this literature to describe the natural world and our relationship with it. In the essay, he suggests how important of setting that plays role in literature, that helps a reader to get into a theme of a story, and how important of a place that can affects human life. Lopez leaves two different idea about how place can be so important to human. First of them is; “I would say a sense of place is also critical to the development of a sense of morality and of human identity.” This passage from “A literature of place” shows Lopez’s idea which he believe that a place can be a great factors that influence human to create and change and improve their morality, identity and imagination to be like the …show more content…
creator wants them to be. The second fact that he mentions in the text is; “I have come to think of these things as a fundamental human defense against loneliness. If you you’re intimate with a place, a place with whose history you’re familiar, and you establish an ethical conservation with it, the implication that follows is this: the place knows you’re there. It feels you. You will not be forgotten, cut off, abandoned.”--- “a sense of not being isolated in the universe”. This passage in the essay also shows Lopez’s idea that if human can create an intimacy between themselves and a nature or an environment, they will feel like they are not the only one when they feel lonely because a nature will full fill their feeling with its beauty through human sensation. Therefore, the facts ,that Lopez leaves for a reader, are the key that tells the story about the importance and effect of a place that have toward human. The idea of Lopez about the power of place toward human are found in many literature from an older author to young new generation author. One of the best literature from Sarah Orne Jewett called “ A White Heron”; the story of a girl who change herself after she goes out to live in a farm, also shows an idea of the importance of place. According to the text, “and Sylvia she cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron’s secret and give its life away.” This quote from the story tells us about Sylvia, who has just seen and felt the beautiful of the natural world, changes her attitude and her identity and morality forever. From being like a normal kid, Sylvia learn how to respect the nature, Learn how to create an intimacy with the nature and let the nature be her friend, which she would not let others destroy and take it away from her as she also mentions in the text that says, “Dear loyalty, that suffered a shape pang as the guest went away disappointed later in the day , that could have served and followed him and loved him as a dog loves! At this point Sylvia chooses not to tell a hunter about a white heron because she sees the nature as her friend. She cannot betray her friend by giving its life away. This quote shows Lopez’s point on how the nature would not let anyone alone. As Sylvia creates her intimacy with the nature and being a good friend, she can’t betray, tells us that she will not be alone anymore in the place where she has a natural friend around her. Even though the world has changed a lot in the technology era, sense of place is still important to people nowadays.
Cheryl Strayed, the writer of “wild” , established a book about herself in 201. Cheryl used to have a big trouble in her life, but she decided to go to the wood of the Pacific Crest Trail and finally she discovers a way out of her problems. From the story that says, “For once the phase a woman who has a hole in her heart didn’t thunder into my head. That phase, it didn’t even live for me anymore.” and “Even after all this way, with my body now stronger than it had ever been, and likely ever be.” These two phase from the story tells a reader that the women who suffer from both physical and emotional problems in her life. Started with dying of her mother, her father became aggressive and hurted her mom when she was young, she cheats her true lover and involve herself with drug. These all problems drag her into the lowest part of her life. However, she decided to go out into the PCT by herself and finally she becomes stronger and she can put out a fire that make a hole in her heart away. Changing of Cheryl personality and identity helps to make Lopez’s idea become clearlier in which he suggests that place can improve human morality and identity. Another point of Lopez about intimacy with the nature and loneliness also mentions in this story which she says, “There are too many amazing things in the world.They opened up inside of me like a river. I was crying
because I was full” While Cheryl spent her time in the forest, most of the time, she travelled and camped by herself. In the beginning of the trail she felt so lonely like she was the only one in the universe. Finally, she started to open her mind and built her intimacy between her and the nature. Sensation of a nature that the nature expressed to her full fill the hole in her heart and made she felt not like being alone in the universe anymore. Even though the stories above seem to make us feel like a place can develop human personalities in an only positive way, a place and environment can develop human identities in negative way as well. The famous poet, Sandburg, wrote the interesting poem named “Chicago”, which its content is about the good triads and bad triads of the city. According to the poem, “They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boy And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again And they tell me you are brutal and my relay is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the makes of wanton hunger,” Chicago is one of the most important industrial city in the world. Many people find their opportunity in this city and make them become rich, and also many people come here and lose everything in their life. Thus, this big city create a huge gap between rich and poor people in the social. For surviving, people in lower class, started to do everything to get themselves out of their tough life. From the quote of Chicago, social conditions change them to be wicked, crooked and brutal. Therefore, this story helps to make the first point of Lopez more obvious and shows the power of place that can develop human in both way. However, as the other story, the point of not being alone in the nature and environment also express through this poem. From text that says, “And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them: Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.” The writer uses personification to represent Chicago as one of a person. The speaker in the story is not the only person in the story, he still has his friend, Chicago. Being a good friend, they has to stand for each other as he defense for him in the story. Therefore, an appearing of Chicago reminds the speaker that he is not alone, but he has his city and environment to be his friends. All in all, These stories help us to understand why a place is one of the most important factors that has a power to influence human in approaching to the theme. However, he also mentions that place has a strong effect toward a real life of human as well, not only in a book. As an foreign exchange student, who live in somewhere far from homeland, can not deny that I have never think back to my home. Many times I feel like about to give up with my year in different land, but every time I feel like that, the cold air of pacific Northwest, sounds of the friendly people and the spectacular scenery in this area always remind me why I started. And they tell me the way to keep on. I never feel lonely when I realize there are the nature and environment around me as a good friend. Therefore, a regional detail is very important to human life, both in literature and a real life. But the way to let the nature help you, we must break the wall in our heart, open ourselves to the nature. Then let the nature occupy us and let them tell us who we are.
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed is a book about several events that took place in her life after her mom died and how she lost everything including herself and made the impulsive decision to walk the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. This book was possibly intended for people who have been in the same situation as she has been: going through the loss of a loved one or just feeling like you have nothing left. I will conduct a rhetorical analysis of Strayed’s memoir, Wild, and critique her use of rhetorical appeals in order to show that her memoir was written
In life usually people do not meet others by accident they are meant to cross her/his path for a reason. Throughout the book “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed it shows how she was impacted by many archetypes through her journey she encountered both positive and negative. Archetypes are certain types of people or things. Strayed accomplished her journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail alone and demonstrating who she really is. There are various archetypes that play a big role in Cheryl's physical and emotional journey. The archetypes create who she is today and without them she wouldn't be able to transform.
In "On Entering a New Place", Barry Lopez discusses how perception can be deceiving when trying something new that you don't completely understand. Typically, a person would be uncomfortable about the unknown so in their minds they theorize what could be. To continue getting rid of their nerves, they run their ideas through their heads multiple times until they believe that is how it's supposed to be.
In 1990, when he was 22 years old, Christopher McCandless ventured out into the Alaska wilderness in search for true happiness, and 2 years later he suffered a tragic death. An aspiring writer, Jon Krakauer, found McCandless’ story fascinating and chose to dedicate 3 years of his life to write a novel about him. The book entitled “Into the Wild” tells the tale of Christopher McCandless, an ill prepared transcendentalist longing for philosophical enrichment, who naïvely, failed to consider the dangers of isolating himself from human society for such a long period of time. Though Christopher McCandless made a courageous attempt to separate himself from society, in order to achieve self-fulfillment, the stubborn nature of this reckless greenhorn led him to his unfortunate demise.
Into the Wild, written by John Krakauer tells of a young man named Chris McCandless who 1deserted his college degree and all his worldly possessions in favor of a primitive transient life in the wilderness. Krakauer first told the story of Chris in an article in Outside Magazine, but went on to write a thorough book, which encompasses his life in the hopes to explain what caused him to venture off alone into the wild. McCandless’ story soon became a national phenomenon, and had many people questioning why a “young man from a well-to-do East Coast family [would] hitchhike to Alaska” (Krakauer i). Chris comes from an affluent household and has parents that strived to create a desirable life for him and his sister. As Chris grows up, he becomes more and more disturbed by society’s ideals and the control they have on everyday life. He made a point of spiting his parents and the lifestyle they lived. This sense of unhappiness continues to build until after Chris has graduated college and decided to leave everything behind for the Alaskan wilderness. Knowing very little about how to survive in the wild, Chris ventures off on his adventure in a state of naïveté. It is obvious that he possessed monumental potential that was wasted on romanticized ideals and a lack of wisdom. Christopher McCandless is a unique and talented young man, but his selfish and ultimately complacent attitude towards life and his successes led to his demise.
Harm de Blij and his “The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization’s Rough Landscape” truly describes how geography is displayed in the world today. In particular on of the major themes that he discusses is the idea of globalization. He actually calls these people the “globals.” In the very beginning of his book he describes two different types of peoples: Locals and Globals. The difference between these people is that Locals are the poorer people, not as mobile, and more susceptible to the concept of place. On the other hand the Globals are the fortunate population, and are a small group of people who have experienced globalization firsthand (5). This idea of globalization is a main theme that Blij refers to throughout the book, however he also indirectly references the five themes of cultural geography: culture regions, cultural diffusion, cultural interaction, cultural ecology, and cultural landscapes. Through Blij’s analysis these five themes are revealed in detail and help explain his overall idea of globalization in the world today.
The novel “Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer goes into great detail to describe the main character, Chris McCandless, who died traveling alone into the Alaskan wilderness. McCandless, whom in the novel renamed himself Alex, left his home and family to travel to Alaska in 1992. In Alaska McCandless planned to live an isolated life in the desolate wilderness, but unfortunately he did not survive. This non-fiction novel portrays his life leading up to his departure and it captures the true essence of what it means to be “in the wild”.
“What is the purpose of life?” This simple question intimidates many who refuse to confront the reality of life. Living in a fast paced world consumed by technology and materialism, it is difficult for one to examine what is truly important to live life wholly. Because of this struggle, many settle with unhappy lives, wallowing in fear, regret and dissatisfaction. In John Krakauer’s novel Into the Wild, he examines the short life of Christopher McCandless, a courageous man who detached himself from his past life in order to pursue something elusive in the Alaskan bush. Although Chris McCandless withdrew from the company of his family and friends, he journeyed into the wild philosophically free; gaining total independence and personal triumph,
“Into The Wild” by John Krakauer is a non-fiction biographical novel which is based on the life of a young man, Christopher McCandless. Many readers view Christopher’s journey as an escape from his family and his old life. The setting of a book often has a significant impact on the story itself. The various settings in the book contribute to the main characters’ actions and to the theme as a whole. This can be proven by examining the impact the setting has on the theme of young manhood, the theme of survival and the theme of independent happiness.
Straying away from life as a whole only to be alone, some may say is the strong way to heal themselves when dealing with extreme grief or a major crisis . In the book Wild, twenty-two year old Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost it all. Dealing with the loss of her mother, her family torn to pieces, and her very own marriage was being destroyed right before her very eyes. Living life with nothing more to lose, lifeless, she made the most life changing decision of her life. Strayed never seems remorseful on her decisions to up and leave everything behind while deciding to flee from it all. This being her way of dealing with life, it shows her as being strong; a woman of great strength and character. She shows personal strength, which is more than just a physical word. It is a word of very high value and can only be defined by searching deep within your very own soul.
This places the reader in recognisable landscape which is brought to life and to some extent made clearer to us by the use of powerful, though by no means overly literary adjectives. Machado is concerned with presenting a picture of the Spanish landscape which is both recognisable and powerful in evoking the simple joys which it represents. Furthermore, Machado relies on what Arthur Terry describes as an `interplay between reality and meditation' in his description of landscape. The existence of reality in the text is created by the use of geographical terms and the use of real names and places such as SOrai and the Duero, while the meditation is found in...
An individual’s ‘Sense of Place’ is predominantly their place of belonging and acceptance in the world, may it be through a strong physical, emotional or spiritual connection. In Tim Winton’s novel ‘The Riders”, the concept of Sense of Place is explored through the desperate journey of its protagonist, Fred Scully. Scully’s elaborate search for identity throughout the novel is guided and influenced by the compulsive love he feels for his wife Jennifer and their family morals, the intensity of hope and the destruction it can cause and the nostalgic nature of Winton’s writing. Two quotes which reflect the ideals of a person’s Sense of Place are “Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him.’(Aldous Huxley) and “It is not down in any map. True places never are.” (Herman Melville). Huxley and Melville’s statements closely resemble Fred Scully’s journey and rectify some of his motivations throughout the text.
As an extension of the previous theory, genius loci theory branches out of the social characteristic of the phenomenology theory. Norberg-Schulz (1980) was the first theorist to introduce this theory in 1979; he defined it as the sense or feeling humans have about a certain place. In 1980, he published “Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture” where he better explain the idea of a sense of place. He mentions that a sense of place should be seen from the view of the daily user (Norberg-Schulz, 1980). For this sense of place to be experienced, the daily user needs to be a part of its creation by contributing towards the ‘sprit’ that makes up this sense of place (Norberg-Schulz, 1980). Norberg-Schulz places significant importance on the word ‘spirit’ when mentioning its effects on the sense of place of an environment. He uses the word as reference to physical characteristics of a place; how people perceive and feel objects in an environment; how people express themselves culturally around that environment; and lastly, the building form adds up to complete the symbolism and spirit of this place (Norberg-Schulz, 1980).
This area of the world is so foreign to my Oklahoma life; it infuses me with awe, and with an eerie feeling of being strongly enclosed by huge mountains, and the mass of tall trees. However, when my foot first steps onto the dusty trail it feels crazily magical. The clean, crisp air, the new smell of evergreen trees and freshly fallen rain is mixed with fragrances I can only guess at. It is like the world has just taken a steroid of enchantment! I take it all in, and embrace this new place before it leaves like a dream and reality robs the moment. As I turn and look at my family, I was caught by my reflection in their impressions. The hair raising mischief in the car was forgotten and now it was time to be caught up in this newness of life. It was as if the whole world around us had changed and everyone was ready to engulf themselves in it. The trickling of water somewhere in the distance and the faint noise of animals all brought the mountains to
A place, for me, is somewhere that I am familiar with and I recognize it in some way as my own special geographic location. It is somewhere I am emotionally attached to and it is a place that I wish to remain at. I personally feel that it has taken me years to achieve this particular comprehension about where for certain that place is for me in my life, and to make out why I feel a certain way about being within the walls of my own home. I have now come to realize that my home is where my heart will always truly be, because I believe it is the only place where I will always be loved without