Connecting with Nature in Rip Van Winkle, Thanatopsis, and Walden

738 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Walden henry david thoreau rhetorical devices

Romanticism is the involvement of emotion, fantasy, and intuition in a story. It happens to be the opposite of rationalism which involves logic, reason, and rationality in a story. There happens to be five romantic elements to choose from. They include: dissatisfaction with city life, desire to connect with nature, concern of individualism, nostalgia for the past, and supernatural interest. Of the six stories we could choose from all of them have some part of romanticism in them in one way or another. I chose to express a desire to connect with nature in “Rip Van Winkle”, “Thanatopsis”, and Walden.

Rip Van Winkle desires to leave his nagging wife, driving him into the woods revealing a gorgeous, woodland landscape and a desire to connect with nature. In the first paragraph of the story a connection to nature is already made when referring to the mountains. “When the weather is fair and settled they are clothed in blue and purple, print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky; but sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they will gather a hood of gray vapors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory.” (155) This expresses that purity of the natural landscape. The writer could have just mentioned mountains, but instead he made them this sentiment of beauty. While he is walking into the woods he depicts this green knoll covered in herbs that overlooks the lower country and rich woodland. He even expresses his view of the Hudson River. “He saw at a distance the lordly Hudson, far, far, below him, moving on its silent but majestic course, with the reflection of a purple cloud, or the sail of a lagging bark here and there sleeping...

... middle of paper ...

...g the tree. “In one heavy thundershower the lighting stuck a large pitch pine across the pond, making a very conspicuous and perfectly regular spiral groove from top to bottom, an inch or more deep, and four or five inches wide…” (239) It gives nature this supernatural, odd appeal. The image of lightning just seems to dance through the memory and connect with the reader. The expressions Thoreau’s favorite features of nature make this story have a desire to connect with nature.

In conclusion, “Rip Van Winkle,” “Thanatopsis,” and Walden all connect with nature, buy they all connect in their own ways. “Rip Van Winkle” bases the connection with nature behind a whimsical story and descriptive details. “Thanatopsis” uses its deeper meaning and meld of human and nature to connect with nature, and Walden uses Thoreau’s thoughts and descriptions to connect with nature.

Show More
Related

  • J.M. Hickman's Grand Style: An Ordinary Man's Extraordinary Nature

    1853 Words  | 4 Pages

    Harton, Ron. "Henry Thoreau as a Model for Nature Writing." 9 August 2009. The Thoreau Reader. Online Document. 17 March 2014. .

    Read More

  • Walden Rhetorical Analysis Essay

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    The opening paragraph is an incredibly vivid account of nights spent by “the stony shore” of Walden Pond. His description of the animals around the pond, the cool temperature, and the gentle sounds of lapping waves and rustling leaves all serve to remove the idea that nature is a wild and unkempt world of its own, and instead makes it seem much more serene and graceful. Any who thought of Thoreau as an insane outdoorsmen may have even found themselves repulsed by the monotony and constant bustle of city life and longing for the serenity felt by Thoreau. This

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Strategies In Walden By Henry Thoreau

    376 Words  | 1 Pages

    Henry Thoreau uses specific rhetorical strategies in Walden to emanate his attitude towards life. With the use of many strategies Thoreau shows that life should be centered around Nature. People live their lives not ever taking a second glance of what Nature does and has done for humanity and Thoreau is trying to prove his point. Humanity owes Nature everything for without it humans would be nothing.

    Read More

  • Strange And Exaggerated Characters In Rip Van Winkle

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    Protagonist Rip Van Winkle possesses mystical and entertaining characteristics that captivate the reader. Rip Van Winkle regards all of his neighbors with kindness continuously. He shows the depth of American values such as kindness and the love of the neighbor. Van Winkle’s great kindness is illustrated by his helping of others. On page 62, the narrator states “He inherited, however, but little of the martial character of his ancestors. I have observed that he was a simple, good-natured man; he was moreover a kind neighbor, and an obedient, henpecked husband,” confirming that Van Winkle is a kind person and a loving

    Read More

  • Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood

    370 Words  | 1 Pages

    Romanticism is a revolt against rationalism. The poets and authors of this time wrote about God, religion, and Beauty in nature. The romantics held a conviction that imagination and emotion are superior to reason. One such author is William Cullen Bryant, he wrote the poem Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood. This poem uses many literary devices, and has a strong message to portray to the reader.

    Read More

  • Dillard and Thoreau Comparison

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.

    Read More

  • Transcendentalism In Henry David Thoreau's 'Spring'

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry David Thoreau’s Walden encompasses a variety of themes and elements which cultivate an astounding work of American literature. “Spring” is focused on the changing of the season from winter to spring, and Thoreau’s analysis of Walden Pond and the area surrounding the pond. Thoreau looks at the pond from a spiritual aspect, describing the relationships between life and nature with an abysmal passion. Without Thoreau’s incorporation of precise literary elements, and integration of the themes of solitude, newness of life, and transcendentalism to clearly outline the spiritual revelations he obtained from his retirement at Walden Pond, the readers of his work would not be able to completely grasp the concepts Thoreau presents.

    Read More

  • The Romantic Point of View in Walden, Life in the Woods

    629 Words  | 2 Pages

    In my opinion, Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau is an excellent example of a Romantic point of view. Thoreau successfully conveys his Romantic ideas through his literature, and makes clear where he stands.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Henry David Thoreau And Against Nature

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    In many works of literature, authors often have a point they are trying to convey. This may be something about religion or politics, for example. In From Walden by Henry David Thoreau and Against Nature by Joyce Carol Oates, both authors are trying to make different claims regarding the topic of nature. Thoreau’s piece speaks more positively of nature whereas Oates’ piece contradicts the romantic views some writers have about nature. In making their claims, both authors utilize different structures to convey clear messages to the reader.

    Read More

  • Richard Douglass And Thoreau's Connecting With Nature

    1892 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thus, the connection with nature, describes Richard Higgins on Thoreau, was through “[f]ive characteristic [that] were with his eye, his heart, his muse, and his soul” (HIGGINS 35). Thoreau was delighted with nature and trees in particular, for they were his friends whose appearance and demeanor spoke to him. Similarly, Fuller finds this connection, but is more overwhelmed than is Thoreau. Fuller, speaking on Niagara Falls, writes that “(a)fter awhile it so drew me into itself as to inspire and undefined dread, such as I never knew before, such as may be felt when death is about to usher us into a new existence” (Fuller 4). Nature speaking on different grounds and through different, but yet connected senses, and through the conscious and unconsciousness only add to the experience of becoming one with nature. Fuller further observes the connection that nature has with humans. She observes that when she expresses, “The tall trees bent and whispered all around, as if to hail with sheltering love the men who had come to dwell among them” (Fuller 24). As the trees spoke Thoreau and Fuller listened, as their moment became one with nature their soul became

    Read More

  • Romanticism and Realism: Examples of Mark Twain and Herman Melville Novels

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    Romanticism first came about in the 18th century and it was mostly used for art and literature. The actual word “romanticism” was created in Britain in the 1840s. People like Victor Hugo, William Wordsworth, and Percy Bysshe Shelley had big impacts on this style of art. Romanticism is an art in which people express their emotion. Whatever they believed is put into a picture, painting, poem, or book. Romanticism goes deep into a mind. It is very deep thinking and it’s expressing yourself through that deep thinking. Romanticism is the reaction to the Enlightenment and the enlightenment aka the “Age of Reason” took place during the 1700s to 1800s. The enlightenment emphasized being rational and using your mind; on the other hand, romanticism focuses on emotion and imagination. It says don’t just focus on rationality and reason.

    Read More

  • Nature in the Poems: The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop and The Meadow Mouse by Theodore Roethke

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    Two poems, “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop and “The Meadow Mouse” by Theodore Roethke, include characters who experience, learn, and emote with nature. In Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “The Fish,” a fisherman catches a fish, likely with the intention to kill it, but frees it when he sees the world through the eyes of the fish. In Theodore Roethke’s poem “The Meadow Mouse,” a man finds a meadow mouse with the intention of keeping it and shielding it from nature, but it escapes into the wild. These poems, set in different scenarios, highlight two scenarios where men and women interact with nature and experience it in their own ways.

    Read More

  • American Romanticism

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romanticism is an influential literary movement in America that changed literature permanently from the drastically modest and structured ideals of Puritanism. Two contrasting types of authors, Romantics and Dark Romantics, introduce new, meaningful literature to America; while Romantics see the light and airy side of the world, Dark Romantics see the darker more horrific side. This drastically modified literary period is influenced by Europe and was revolutionary for America from the moment it arrived. American Romanticism rejects the normal, rational thought and praises the unpredictability and complexity of emotion. Romanticism has changed American literature forever.

    Read More

  • Romanticism as a Reaction to the Enlightenment

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Romanticism was a reaction to the Enlightenment as a cultural movement, an aesthetic style, and an attitude of mind (210). Culturally, Romanticism freed people from the limitations and rules of the Enlightenment. The music of the Enlightenment was orderly and restrained, while the music of the Romantic period was emotional. As an aesthetic style, Romanticism was very imaginative while the art of the Enlightenment was realistic and ornate. The Romanticism as an attitude of mind was characterized by transcendental idealism, where experience was obtained through the gathering and processing of information. The idealism of the Enlightenment defined experience as something that was just gathered.

    Read More

  • British Romanticism versus American Romanticism

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, let’s give a little bit of overview about the British and American romance definitions. The British defined Romanticism as “a fascination with youth and innocence as well as a questioning of authority.” Also, “changing tradition for idealistic purposes and an adaptation to change.” p. The American poets defined Romanticism as “a school of thought that valued feelings and intuition over reason.” p. 143. “A Journey away from the corruption of civilization and the limits of rational thought and toward the integrity of nature and the freedom of imagination.” p. 142. American romance also showed a great respect to youth and innocence, just like that of the British. One of the very active British poets of this time, William Blake, wrote a very good poem called “The Chimney Sweeper from Songs of Innocence”, and the following is a quote from the poem, “Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm,

    Read More

More about Connecting with Nature in Rip Van Winkle, Thanatopsis, and Walden

Open Document