Sandoval 1
Wendell Berry’s “The Art of the Commonplace” is a collection of essays that cover a wide variety of social issues that the author has experienced. Berry focuses his visions of agrarianism into a lot of the arguments discussed in his essays, wishing for a society that recognizes the need for farming, reducing waste, and preserving the environment among other things. Although “The Art of the Commonplace” is divided into five sections, Berry remains consistent in the themes and beliefs he writes about in the essays, even expanding upon them in future essays later in the book.
Part 1 of his essay collection, titled “A Geobiography”, only has one essay titled “The Native Hill”. In the essay, Berry talks about his family history and his upbringing. His great-grandfather, an emigrant from Ireland, placed important values into young Berry
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that he kept with him throughout his life and helped shape his belief system. It was also in his youth that Berry witnessed the violence of men towards each other and the land that they lived on. It was because of this that Berry formed his belief that American settlers never truly appreciated the land and wasted resources. Berry also is troubled that people try to push their ideas on the land and yes its resources rather than try and understand and become a part of nature. Part 2, “Understanding Our Cultural Crises”, begins with “The Unsettling of America” which explores a belief of Berry’s that the history of the United States is a history of exploitation, and through that the country is ruled by corporate interests. Other essays in part 2 talk about other issues such as racism, “Racism and the Economy”, and gender inequities “Feminism, Sandoval 2 the Body, and the Machine”. In the essay “Think Little”, Berry tackles consumerism and how we as a society are wasting our resources because of our want of services for our every desire. He also calls into question the movements for civil rights and environmental protection and awareness, considering them as just a fad that will eventually disappear because those in the movement do not possess the true dedication that he does. In Part 3, “The Agrarian Basis for an Authentic Culture”, Berry dives further into his explanation of how an agrarian life and belief system allows people to develop healthier relationships with each other.
In the essay, “People, Land, and Community” Berry talks about society’s technological advancements into technology that he considers dangerous such as atomic weapons with possible faulty activation systems. Building on this point, Berry explains the differences between what he calls a “public” society and a “community”. The “public” society is free to pursue business for their own gain in pursuit of profit, a “community” on the other hand, has a sense of responsibility, a fellowship between those in the community where each member of the community is accountable not only to each other but to future generations that will inherit their resources.
In his essay, “Health is Membership”, it is stated that professionals in the health industry ignore standard health practices. As an example, tobacco use is regulated by the government but the use of antibiotics and other chemicals in meat production is still a common practice in
a Sandoval 3 “public” society. But once everyone becomes a true part of the “community” the doctors will be able to work with the community to achieve better health. Part 4 of the collection, “Agrarian Economics”, continues the thought process that Berry began in “The Agrarian Basis for an Authentic Culture”. But he also makes references to religion in his essay “Two Economies”, comparing the ruining of the farming economy in today’s society to an attack on God’s Kingdom. A good majority of this essay is using Christianity as illustrations for Berry’s views which he eventually comes to reject due to the commandment that gives humans dominion over the earth. From there, the topic of religion as it relates to agrarianism is discussed further in the final collection. The final part of the collection, titled “Agrarian Religion”, explores agrarianism and its religious foundations.
In “A Half-Pint of Old Darling”, by Wendell Berry, being honest is an important factor in a relationship. Miss Minnie and Ptolemy Proudfoot are a prime example as such when they keep secrets from one another, but then fix some things with the truth. They head over a major road bump that is eventually solved after being honest with one another. It seemingly makes their relationship stronger when the story concludes. Most of the secrets are kept in fear of hurting the other, which ends up happening one day when Tol sneaks Old Darling alcohol into their buggy. It is seen that hiding the truth means one is not being honest to his or her self, as well as to another. In this story, secrets leave speculation as to just how well Miss Minnie and Ptolemy Proudfoot’s relationship really is, and if things end up changing after a huge mistake.
“Thoughts in the Presence of Fear” is a manifesto written by Wendell Berry, dated October 11, 2001. It is a post-September 11 manifesto for environmentalists. Berry uses terms such as “we” and “they” as he expresses his ideas, regarding how our optimism for a “new economy” was founded upon the labors of poor people all over the world. I will conduct a rhetorical analysis of four sections of Berry’s manifesto; Sections XI, XII, XIII, and XIV; and discuss his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Berry uses pathos more often in his paper, to instill feelings of guilt and fear in his readers. While many areas of his paper can be thought of as logos, Berry makes little use of ethos.
Wendell Berry writes in his book, “What are people for?” a thesis that modern culture is destroying the agricultural culture. He feels that technology is seen and used as the easy way to produce food faster and more efficiently. With this modern way of farming comes the idea that we need to work smarter not harder which is not always true. The goal is comfort and leisure and Berry feels that this is the reason for the down fall of the agricultural culture. He believes that hard work and pride in workmanship is more important than material goods and money. This was by no means a perfect society. The people had often been violent wand wasteful in the use of land of each other. Its present ills have already taken root in it. Even with these faults, this society appreciated the hard work of farming compared to the easy way of living today.
In his 2009 article “The Omnivore’s Delusion”, Blake Hurst takes a stand against the numerous non-farmers who are attempting, and in some cases succeeding, to degrade and ‘clean’ the farming industry. Hurst’s main points of contention are the lack of true knowledge these intellectuals have on the inner workings of today’s farms and their insistent belief that the farmers themselves “…are too stupid to farm sustainably, too cruel to treat their animals well, and too careless to worry about their communities, their health, and their families” (24).
In, Outside the Solar Village One utopian Farm, by, Wes Jackson, he explains about the expressions of human beings and how nature fills the world with such great full things. He explains how every community can enhance to become something that their children and their children’s children will want to continue on as their ancestors did to live and grow, instead of leaving. We think that technology can save us money but it doesn’t always save us money. Sometimes technology ends up costing a lot more than we think it will in the end and robs from our natural recourses.
The preface to Wendell Berry’s What Are People For? is in the form of a two-part poem, titled “Damage” and “Healing.” By carefully digging through its cryptic obscurities (“It is despair that sees the work failing in one’s own failure”), we find the main message: The more diminutive, local, and settled a culture, the healthier it is and the less “damage” it inflicts upon its people and the land. Berry can be called a utopian but not in the traditional sense. He pines not for the future but for the past. Basing his lifestyle upon his boyhood memories of fifty years ago as well as America’s pioneer days, Berry is confident he has found the answer to the perfect existence.
The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement. Hartcourt-Brace La Botz, Dan (2005). "The Species of the World." César Chávez and La Causa. Pearson Longman Moyer, John (1970).
Should others be able to control what we eat? Should they tell us what to eat or what not to eat, or should we be responsible for our own eating habits? In Wendell Berry’s essay, “The Pleasures of Eating”, he argues that people should eat responsibly and to eat responsible is to live free. According to Berry, one way to eat responsible is to live free. He explains how people are not free if our food and sources are controlled by someone else. I disagree with Berry’s argument, because it is up to people to decide whether they want to eat responsibly and live free. Many people do not care where their food comes from and others do not have time to learn about their food and its origin.
Time is another big struggle for college students. I know the feeling of applying for classes because it’s tough to decide on if there’s time to get from one class to one another; also if there’s time to get a bite to eat. Wendell Berry’s “The Pleasures of Eating: In What Are People For?” article suggests taking pleasure in eating a few ways to help anyone be a healthier eater, but “time” is an obstacle for the solutions. First off, both Berry and actually Pollan suggest students grow their own food in gardens. Specifically, Berry says to “Participate in food production to the extent” and “You will be fully responsible for any food that you grow for yourself, and you will know all about it. You will appreciate it fully, having known it all
The documentary film “The Garden,” by Scott Hamilton Kennedy captivates and captures the South Central Los Angeles farmers struggles and conflicts they faced trying to save the South Central Farm. The 14 acre garden grows fresh vegetables and fruits, such as: corn, beans, papayas, and etc. It was one of the largest community garden and became known as the urban garden. Doris Bloch, the founder of the community garden, said in the documentary that the land could be use to build a garden for the community residents to grow their own food. Bloch said “ very low income family that deserves to grow their own food… land, people, food, it's a pretty simple idea. happy days.” The farmers took an advantage to use that land to grow their own vegetables
The smallholders (farmers) were in “the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political and material ruin” (Foner, 2013,p.642). They have been faced by numerous struggles politically as well as economically. To begin with, they were denied the right to direct vote and choose a representative to remedy their problems. Corruption has manifested through the congress and legislatures. The capitalists hav...
The question of what is the government’s role in regulating healthy and unhealthy behavior is one that would probably spark a debate every time. Originally, the role was to assist in regulating and ensure those that were unable to afford or obtain healthcare insurance for various reasons would be eligible for medical care. However, now it seems that politicians are not really concerned about what’s best for the citizens but woul...
...a rural farming community in the 19th century South where accents are thick and homes are few and far between. The young girl’s family is privileged enough to own a buggy whereas the Slumps own a simple wagon. The Slumps have a dirt floor to which clearly exemplifies the poor living conditions that they survive in. The girl’s father not only owns better equipment but also has a shed to which he can store the items in to keep them from being exposed to the elements. The little girl acknowledges the diversities between their two lives but doesn’t consider the Slumps as inferior people simply because they live an austere lifestyle. Her concern, as far as she’s concerned, is that the Slumps sleep under the stars, pick plums, and make jelly: a task that is unfamiliar and exciting to her to which she can merely examine from afar with a desire to partake in the amusement.
One final contradiction that Steinbeck uses in his essay that I have personally witnessed is, "In no country are more seeds and plants and equipment purchased, and less vegetables and flowers raised." It seems like every other week my neighbor two houses down brings home bags of seeds for plants, trees, fruits, and vegetables, yet their back yard still looks like all they plant are weeds. They even hire landscapers to come and work on their yard.
Sociology of Health and Illness The sociological approaches focus on identifying the two sociological theories. We critically analysed the biomedical model and doctor-patient relationship. We also evaluated how the medical professionals exercise social control and the medical professional’s contribution to ill health. The difference between society and health is studied by sociologists in relation to health and illness.