Literature frequently uses landscape as a medium through which authors express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Two such writers who have examined and portrayed landscapes in their writings, albeit in very different circumstances, are John Muir and Timothy Severin. Famous naturalist and conservationist Muir traveled the American West, and historian and explorer Severin set out to retrace ancient expeditions. Muir and Severin present opposing viewpoints on landscapes in their writings, each of which is shaped by their own experiences and goals. John Muir, who is sometimes called the "Father of the National Parks," had a great regard for the natural world and the wilderness. His works, which include "My First Summer in the Sierra" and "The Mountains of California," beautifully convey his encounters with the untamed West. Muir captures the majesty and grandeur of the mountains, forests, …show more content…
He refers to the Sierra Nevada mountains as "the Range of Light," highlighting both their breathtaking beauty and spiritual significance. Muir emphasizes the need of conservation and preservation in his writing, which frequently conveys awe and appreciation for the natural environment In general, Muir's descriptions of the terrain evoke a profound sense of harmony and interdependence with the natural world. His essays encourage people to support the preservation of wilderness areas and recognize their inherent worth. Timothy Severin's books center on reenacting historical expeditions and treks, in contrast to Muir's study of pristine wilderness. Severin's most well-known work, "The Brendan Voyage," chronicles the mythical leather boat voyage of Saint Brendan the Navigator across the Atlantic Ocean. Severin describes the scenery he witnessed on his travels in vivid detail, based on his extensive research and personal
Cronon, William “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature” ed., Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature, New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1995, 69-90
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Nature.” The American Experience. Ed. Kate Kinsella. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. 388-390. Print.
Born in Home, Pennsylvania in 1927, Abbey worked as a forest ranger and fire look-out for the National Forest Service after graduating from the University of New Mexico. An author of numerous essays and novels, he died in 1989 leaving behind a legacy of popular environmental literature. His credibility as a forest ranger, fire look- out, and graduate of the University of New Mexico lend credibility to his knowledge of America’s wilderness and deserts. Readers develop the sense that Abbey has invested both time and emotion in the vast deserts of America.
John Muir has a very strong relationship with nature as said in his story named The Calypso Borealis. John Muir states in the fifth paragraph that he does not know how long he spent next the flower.In the second
The book Into The Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, tells the story of Chris McCandless a young man who abandoned his life in search of something more meaningful than a materialistic society. In 1992 Chris gave his $ 25,000 savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, and burned all of his money to chase his dream. Chris’s legacy was to live in simplicity, to find his purpose, and to chase his dreams. Chris McCandless’s decision to uproot his life and hitchhike to Alaska has encouraged other young adults to chase their dreams. Neal Karlinksy illustrates the love Chris had for nature in the passage, “He was intoxicated by the nature and the idea of a great Alasican adventure-to survive in the bush totally alone.”
In the 1800’s into the early 1900’s a man named John Muir began to explore the western American lands. He traveled down South and up North. But, when he reached Yosemite Valley, his life changed. As said in John Muir’s Wild America, written by Tom Melham, “Following the forest-lined mountain trails, Muir climbed higher into the Sierra Nevada: suddenly, a deep valley enclosed by colossal steeps and mighty water falls yawned before him. Spell bound, he entered Yosemite Valley” (79). Muir’s travels and adventures, highlighted in Melham’s book, explain this man’s love of the wilderness. Yosemite Valley was like a wide, open home to Muir, who, lived alone and discovered new landings and important later landmarks that create the aura of Yosemite National Park. Yosemite Valley was given to the state of California in 1864, part of the continuous idea of Manifest Destiny, later, in 1890; Yosemite became one of the first National Parks (“World Book”). Uniquely, the longer Muir stayed the more that he...
When thinking about nature, Hans Christian Andersen wrote, “Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” John Muir and William Wordsworth both expressed through their writings that nature brought them great joy and satisfaction, as it did Andersen. Each author’s text conveyed very similar messages and represented similar experiences but, the writing style and wording used were significantly different. Wordsworth and Muir express their positive and emotional relationships with nature using diction and imagery.
“Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer tells the story of Chris McCandless, an idealistic man looking to find himself in the wilderness. His interpretation of the wilderness, however, was different than how the wilderness is in reality. People, places, and concepts are frequently glorified in the media, being made to look better than they actually are. Nature itself is no exception to this. Chris likely saw the false wilderness as it was shown in fiction.
John Muir and William Wordsworth use diction and tone to define nature as doing a necessary extensile of life. Throughout Muir’s and William’s works of literature they both describe nature as being a necessary element in life that brings happiness, joy, and peace. Both authors use certain writing techniques within their poems and essays to show their love and appreciation of nature. This shows the audience how fond both authors are about nature. That is why Wordsworth and Muir express their codependent relationship with nature using diction and tone.
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.
John Muir The purpose of this paper is to inform you about John Muir and his effect on America's national forests. He was a Scottish American and was born in Dunbar, UK on April 21, 1838. He arrived in the U.S in 1868 when he was 30 years of age. John Muir was one of the most influential naturalists in the world.
In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Christopher McCandless gives up all his material possessions to seek fulfillment in the Alaskan Wilderness. In doing this, Chris is able to escape from his parents and live the life of many transcendentalists that he’s read about. As John Muir once said, “The mountains are calling and I must go.” Like John Muir, Chris has developed such a profound love for nature that he is called into the wild by it. Ultimately, Chris’s life decisions are a fascinating paradox that make him both a transcendentalist hero and a fool.
John Muir believed that for the future of America that the natural world should be protected. Muir felt that the environment of much of the United States was not protected properly and the locations that were protected were not managed adequately. Muir felt that Americans had much to gain from the protection of their national resources and park lands. In John Muir’s book Our National Parks, written in 1901 he states: “Awakening from the stupefying effects of the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury, they are trying as best they can to mix and enrich their own...
Several authors have based some of their writings on their spirituality. Some of these writings are as intricate as the Bible or as basic as an article in a local newspaper, but the meaning and passion behind them should never be doubted. In Leslie Marmon Silko's "Landscape, History, and the Pueblo Imagination", she expresses how her people have a very different meaning of "landscape". To Silko's people, the popular definition of landscape as being "a portion of territory the eye can comprehend in a single view" makes it seem as though the viewer is on the outside looking in. To them, the term landscape is much more than that. One cannot leave their surroundings, the earth and nature are always around us and we are always interconnected. The ancie...