Nature Portfolio: Reactions to Essays

Reactions to Essays

Essays chosen: Walking, by Thoreau June 1862

The Divine Soil, Burroughs April 1908

The Force That Drives the Flower, by Dillard November 1973

Despite living as many as over one hundred years apart from each other in vastly different worlds and cultures, these three essayists share some common themes in their writing.   In particular, the essays “Walking,” “Divine Soil” and “The Force That Drives The Flower” all speak to nature’s quiet powers and man’s insensitive and sometimes, even disruptive and destructive ways.   Surprisingly, even though their language style and approaches may change, the three writers (Thoreau, Burroughs and Dillard) speak to some of the same issues. 

            All three of the essayists begin by discussing what is good in nature, for nature and man.   Thoreau seems to write in his typical fashion and tells of how great it is to live in the wild alone, away from human development.    Thoreau tells his readers to walk, to “go in search of the springs of life” and to “lose themselves for half an hour in the woods.”   Burroughs talks about one of the hardest lessons we have to learn is “to see the divine, the celestial, the pure, in the common, the near at hand – to see that heaven lies about us here in this world.”   And, even Dillard, writing in modern day 1973 says ironically that she “gives a little cheer” when “ailanthus, ginko, and sycamore roots” get in the way of New York’s underground plumbing.

            However, all three writers then go on to discuss how man seems to work against nature (even their own nature to like nature) and how man should embrace nature versus trying to own everything and change it.  Thoreau says we should share the earth and not one patch should belong to or exclude others, stating “the best part of the land is not private property…to enjoy a thing exclusively is commonly to exclude yourself from the true enjoyment of it.”   Burroughs in his essay, “The Divine Soil,” explains human desires and claims people will never be satisfied with what they have.   Burroughs states “we found the universal everyday nature too cheap, too common, too vulgar.”  We often forget how much we have and are lost in our lust for material possessions.   Finally, Annie Dillard writes about plants and our human nature to think they are in the way, while she feels the opposite, stating “plants are not our competitors; they are our prey and our nesting materials.”   Dillard then writes about how plants ignore people and always succeed despite our best efforts, sometimes even if they “get in the way of human ‘culture’.”

            I think all these essays share a disdain for common human material desire, but all also believe these desires can be overcome and conquered if the person really tries. However, I don't think they agree on the methods or the requirements. Thoreau seems to believe you must detach yourself from society and possessions and "walk" alone in the wild, in his typical Transcendentalist way.   Meanwhile Burroughs thinks that you must think more carefully about what is beneath you (“look under foot”) at what you have, and how that truly makes you happy, or not.    At the very end of her essay, Annie Dillard tells you to let plants grow freely and to let them in and welcome them (even if they are in the way of waterpipes). 

            Personally, I agree with Burroughs' ideas most out of the three essayists.  Burroughs writes about how you as an individual can change and is very nice in his wording. For instance he writes, "The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is, “Look under foot.”" I think this perfectly shows what Burroughs wants you to do. Burroughs says you must appreciate what you have and the things beneath you for what they are; to understand the value of everything and all life.   I'm not too fond of Thoreau's unrealistic ideas and idealistic philosophies. Thoreau talks about living in the wild.  He writes, “Man and his affairs, I am pleased to see how little space they occupy in the landscape."   This seems a lot like what Dillard wrote as well, being disdainful of man and his society for no good reason I feel. Thoreau thinks you need to go all the way out into the wild and live there alone to experience nature, which I disagree with completely, as I think, like Emerson says, you can just be in a park in a city and immerse yourself in the experience.   Also, I think Dillard is very negative and somewhat cynical and callous.   For instance Dillard writes "these primitive trees can fight city hall and win." This just seems a bit derogatory to people and modern societies. I feel Dillard is disdainful of people for no reason really other than they stop poisonous plants from getting in their water.    

            The writing of Burroughs is the most realistic and relatable.  I think anyone could do what Burroughs wants us to do, if they were just a little more careful and caring and took some time out of their day to think about nature and everything they have.    I honestly feel we could all live and work where we do, while still taking a little time to “look under foot" and probably, care for nature a bit more.

Nature Portfolio: Responses to Pieces

5 Responses to Pieces 

Nature: I think Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature” is the best and most interesting out of all the pieces we read about transcendentalism.  Emerson’s work is also my personal favorite. Additionally, I think it achieves the idea of simplicity most out of all essays. “Nature” is sweet, short and easy to understand – like Emerson’s writing style and language. Conversely, I feel, Thoreau's pieces are long, confusing and overextended in terms of tone and language. “Nature” it not overly full of high flown metaphors and literary devices.  Instead, “Nature” is aimed at the common men, not philosophers. It's trying to show the ideas to everyone and share the concepts with the world. “Nature” uses ideas that can easily be grasped by anyone. Emerson writes that if you walk on a common green while on a break that's experiencing nature the way I want you to I agree with “Nature” the most out of all the essays. It might just be because I was confused by Thoreau's complicated explanations; but, I also think the ideas convened in the short essay really are the core of Transcendentalism, which is "to experience nature every day". That's all Emerson is trying to show to the reader.  Emerson is not trying to completely change their outlook on life, or make them live in a forest.   Emerson is a lot less radical than Thoreau, and stayed relatively conservative in his writings. To put it in modern day “gamer terms,” Emerson is the basic and structure package and Thoreau is the complicated booster pack. Emerson writes, "Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles" meaning anywhere there is something natural and open, you can have the experience there. I agree completely.

Word Count: 298

Walden: I didn't really like Walden that much. I feel like Thoreau takes extreme viewpoints and rambles in his writing a lot.   Also, it was confusing and hard to understand the point he was trying to make in comparison to Emerson. To me, it felt like Thoreau repeated himself over and over again, in a sort of never-ending cycle.   In Walden, Thoreau went off to live in a forest by himself, which I think is a very extreme interpretation of Transcendentalism. Like I stated in the first response, I really think Transcendentalism is about just experiencing nature everyday, like walking in a park on your break time. But Thoreau take it to the deep end. I think his example about the trains doesn't really make any sense either. He tries to say if no one wants the trains then we won't need them.  He writes, "if we stay at home and mind our business who will want railroads?" and, "but to go tinkering upon our lives to improve them?" Here I think Thoreau is being ridiculous and very over-the-top ideologically. I think nobody needs the trains, they just like them. Trains make life easier and are faster. Trains help people to survive and make a living.  Trains are also sometimes enjoyable and help give people food and clothing. It's not a matter of necessity, but a matter of want and desire.  I think most people don't desire to leave everything and live alone in a forest. We desire to better our existences and why is that bad?   Thoreau I think just tried expanding on something that didn't really require expansion. The philosophies of Transcendentalism are short and simple and that's the point of them. You don't need an over-complicated essay to explain them.

Word Count: 293

The Most Sublime Spectacle on Earth: I enjoyed “The Most Sublime Spectacle on Earth” by John Wesley Powell a lot.   Mainly, I enjoyed Powell’s writing because it was really descriptive in word choices and he created beautiful language  I also enjoyed Powell’s work because it didn't talk about Transcendentalism or how you "should" or "need" to experience nature.  Rather, Powell just painted a brilliant picture for you to enjoy any way you wanted.   Powell’s writing style left more of the thinking and interpreting work up to you. You could compare it to a painting masterpiece of the written style. I think the author's little analogies about the Grand Canyon were really clever and help the picture become vivid in your mind.  For instance, Powell’s analogy comparing the sound of the water to beautiful music was terrific, he stated "It is a land of music. The river thunders, swelling in floors of music."  Powell then went on to explain the music and tides, etc. which I think lets you go even farther in your own imagination. The way the author expresses his awe and amazement really made me feel like I was there with him and the Canyon was so incredible I couldn't speak.   His vocabulary choice is amazingly rich too, ranging from words like “tempest” to “multifarious.” These word choices help with the painting of the picture as well.  Mostly, this is a really well written piece that I enjoyed thoroughly in class. I really find it interesting because most of the things we read were telling you to go out and be with nature or experience, etc.   However, Powell’s essay had no aim in mind but to share an amazing experience with you. I think that's really considerate of the author to share something like that with the world and his readers.  I appreciate that Powell put that much work into his writing (versus preaching).   He's not trying to prove a point, just entertain you (and maybe, subtly then let you come to your own conclusions).

Word Count: 336

Snowbound:  I think Snowbound is an interesting poem. It tells a story about a family stuck in a deadly winter storm on their farm. I think the author took something relatively boring and uneventful and turned it into a great poem. I like how quickly it changes from fear and cold to warmth in the house. It always seems to be jumping between amazement of the snow and fear of the cold. I think however, some parts of the poem need to be a bit more clarified. It may just be is artistic style or choice but I think the parts about the animals are confusing and left relatively blank and bland. I also found it hard in the second paragraph to understand the pain of the people and what the cold was actually doing to them. The part later on where the father talks to the children and sort of interacts with them isn't really described either. I feel like I don't know anything about this family and I'm not that invested in their survival of this storm. On the other hand, I really liked his description of the snowflakes. I though comparing them to a "whirl-dance" was very descriptive and showed in the reader's head how quick the snow flurries were moving.

Word Count: 215

Thanatopsis:  I really liked William Cullen Bryant’s poem,“Thanatopsis.”  I thought it had great and interesting ideas that it talked about in clever and well-veiled ways. I thought it got a bit repetitive at times, in many of the same ways Thoreau's work was repetitive. But, I think Bryant kept the ideas fresh and the story interesting through the shifting focus and all the benefits he gave to death. It's a bit creepy in that sense and I feel like Bryant was obsessed with death (or crazy), because in the poem he praised death for all its amazing effects and how great it would be to die and live with kings and nature. It almost seemed like he was pointing out all the bad things in life and all the "great" things in death. I think Bryant was a little biased though and not really accepting all the good things about life. I kind of just want to yell at him, "Do you know what death is?"  But, I do think that the poem was very well written, even if its topic was controversial.   Bryant used a lot of great descriptions about the sun and the rocks, as well as other natural decorations. For instance he wrote, "The venerable woods-rivers that mover in majesty, are but solemn decorations of the great tomb of man." I think that quote was a really descriptive way to convey Bryant’s point.  His point was that even in death, you live on through the plants, trees, rocks, rivers, etc.

Word Count: 253

Nature Portfolio: Weather Experience

Weather Experience Narrative

I volunteer every summer at a day camp for kids ages 6-12. We take field trips almost every week to somewhere, like the beach. Should be great, right? Not so. Historically, the beach has always been bad for this cursed camp.  Things always go wrong. So, I'm reluctant to go every time, but I went this year anyway.

So, off we went.  We took the campers to the beach and things looked fine. We had a great time for a couple of hours. Maybe we were going to finally have a great “Beach Day.” The day at the beach

Then "it" happened. First the temperature dropped, sharply. The air turned frigid, in a matter of

minutes. But my camp director said it was fine and not to worry, we were almost done anyways. 

heads. Finally, lightning struck in the distance. Our director ordered us out of the water and said it was time to go. the Storm of Storms started pouring on us. The rain fell so heavily on me, it literally hurt my head when it hit. To make matters worse, I had to carry three buckets filled with backpacks and balls for the campers.

One of my friends had to carry one of the tired and wet campers. Even worse, the campers were so scared and wet I had to give one of them my coat, because he lost his while we ran. I was colder than I am even now in December. My clothes were falling off they were so wet.

I was just glad we had finally made it to the buses, or so we thought. When we got to the bus pick-up spot, there were no buses. My Camp Director started furiously calling on his phone and yelling as the cold Storm of Storms continued to rain down on us. The campers shivered and moaned as we all huddled together.

Finally the buses came and we got on. I was relieved we were on, but now my clothes were super sandy from the beach, and also wet, cold and clammy. And wet sand doesn't come off of clothes easily and smells horrible afterwards. To add further insult to injury, we had to sit on the bus for a couple hours because the traffic was so bad.

The Storm of Storms was really the worst weather experience I had ever had. I never got my coat back from the camper. We threw my other clothes out because of the stench. It was a horrific day, but I guess I got through it, it's not the first time that I've had a rainy beach day, or the last probably.  

Word Count: 432

Nature Portfolio: Native American Creation Story

Native American Creation Story:
“The Creation of the Dog”

Long, long ago, people and wolves were two different tribes. Both were very mighty and intelligent, matching each other in strength. They lived in peace for many years, but not forever.

One day while the wolves were out hunting, one of their members got caught in a dangerous, lethal trap set by a person. The wolves were very upset because the trap had been set on the wolves' side of the forest and killed one of their warriors. The wolves demanded an explanation from the people. At the same time, the people were out gathering berries. One of their men got caught in a pit underneath a berry bush made for catching animals. The wolves were known to make pits like this to catch unsuspecting animal prey for their dinner. The man died from the fall, which also made the people very upset, because it was on the people’s side of the forest.

At this point, both tribes became very confused and angry, so they decided to meet in the center of the forest at the Lake of Truth. Meetings at the Lake of Truth were supposed to allow both tribes to air their differences and come to a peaceful solution. However, this time, the tribes were both so angered and upset by the others' accusatory claims that they decided a war would be the only way to settle this argument. So, both the wolf and human tribes left to prepare for battle against each other.

However, the real truth turned out to be that the mischievous raccoons had set both traps (the pit beneath the berry bushes and the hunting trap) hoping to fool the tribes. The raccoons wanted control of the forest because they weren't satisfied with the small den they had at the edge of the forest. Unfortunately, neither tribe knew this truth.

During the war, the people and wolves fought very hard, but the people were obviously winning.  But, the devious raccoons wanted both sides to be damaged beyond repair, so they offered to help the wolves. However, the wolves were too honorable to accept the raccoons’ offer and declined. Naturally, the raccoons became very concerned when their offer of assistance was rejected, so the raccoons secretly set more traps and killed many of the warriors of the people. Soon, almost all the people had died, and the wolves were going in for the final kill in the last village populated by part of the people tribe.

At this point, the gods heard all the commotion going on in earth and came down to see what was the matter. When the gods saw the wolves attacking the people, they ordered everyone (the wolves and people) to stop. However, the raccoons didn't hear the gods ordering a cease fire, because they were hiding and awaiting what they thought would be their turn to control the forest. Soon, because of the gods’ order, it was very quiet in the forest land. Both tribes were obeying the gods and attempting to heal their wounds. The raccoons then eventually came out of hiding because the earth wasn’t shaking from all the fighting anymore. The raccoons though the humans were defeated and the wolves less strong. The raccoons thought forest control was now theirs. When the evil raccoons came out from hiding, the raccoons cheered and celebrated how they had helped the wolves destroy the humans.

The gods were enraged that the wolves and raccoons would try to destroy all of the humans. So, the gods forever made the wolves and raccoons walk on four legs low to the ground, beneath the people. Next, the gods merged the wolves and raccoons to make a new species called “The Dog.” And the Dog would forever be in service and care of the humans, to make the wolves and raccoons pay for their dishonorable fighting. 

Word Count: 645

Nature Portfolio: Nature Poem

Nature Poem: Backyards

1              Nature is grand,
                Nature is wild,
                But, my yard is bland,
                And really mild.
5              Living in the city,
                Means nature isn't always there,
                Things look pretty gritty,
                But then I step into the fresh air.
                I think, maybe, well,
10            My yard isn't that bad,
                I take in the smells,
                And I feel kind of glad.
                I dig through the garbage,
                So I could find,
15            A beautiful piece of yardage,
                A flower primed,
                For my touch.
                I took it into my house,
                I washed off the sludge,
20            So I could see it sprout.
                I gazed outside at the dirt,
                Maybe nature is always here,
                It felt a little strange in my heart,
                And I felt sure,
25            Nature doesn't have to be amazing,
                You just have to experience it,
                You'll get its blessing,
                And finally understand,
30            True beauty, is within.

Nature Portfolio: The Most Beautiful

The Most Beautiful

The most beautiful thing I've ever seen happened while I was at Disney World. While I know it's a bit corny, and childish, but it was really impressive and moving for me.

 A couple years ago I went to Disney World with my family over summer break for a couple days. My littlest sister was only five years old, so it was a big trip for her and she was really excited. On the last day, we went to the Magic Kingdom as we were saving the best for last. We had enjoyed most of the day going on rides and wandering around but it wasn't until the end that the most beautiful thing happened.  

You probably know about the infamous Cinderella Castle and Disney’s closing event, the fireworks & light show at the Cinderella Castle. The Disney company always promotes the castle and fireworks & light show in their advertising. Honestly, I had always thought this kind of stuff was gimmicky and could never lived up to all the hype. But I was dead wrong. When Disney says they're going to do something, they do it, and better than anyone else could ever.

It was raining at the end of our day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom.   So, I was positive the castle lights & fireworks show was going to be a bust. How could it be worth the wait, in the rain?    But, wait we did.  My parents and little sister were adamant. So, we sat in the outdoor balcony of a restaurant (somewhat shielded from the rain) directly facing the Cinderella Castle. I was convinced this long and boring waiting was going to be a huge waste of time and definitely not worth it.

But, then things started to happen. The fireworks weren't the first thing to come on. Instead, a spectacular light show started at the beginning. Thousands of hidden lights and beams shined on the Cinderella Castle from every corner imaginable. The lights made the bricks explode off the castle. The lights made children's faces appear. And, the lights even made Mickey Mouse dance. It was astounding and I almost couldn't believe my eyes, it looked so real. Music blared across the park from a million speakers, disguised as simple rocks or trees making the sound travel wherever you were. I remember my sister got up and leaned over the balcony to watch as close as she could. The lights bounced off her eyes as she gazed down and laughed at the cartoons plastered onto the castle. My little sister really thought it was Cinderella’s magic castle and Mickey Mouse that were making it all happen.

Just when I thought everything was done, the loudspeaker shouted that the fireworks were about to begin. Then, and I was really shocked by this one, Jiminy Cricket voice told me to “wish upon a star,” and just like that a firework shot in a beautiful arc over the whole park, traveling for what seemed like thousands of miles.  It was incredible, and honestly seemed like magic really had made the whole park come to life.

Then the real show started, and thousands of fireworks, in every color, sprang out of the ground. They leaped to enormous heights and exploded in shapes and sizes of all kinds. The came on perfect cues with the song, "When You Wish Upon a Star" showering when the song reached its high points. It was really magical, and I think that it touched me, honestly. It was not just a cute moment watching my little sister caught up in the Disney moment. I was honestly moved by the music, the lights, the magic that really is Disney. Despite my initial disbelief, I was impressed, overwhelmed and even touched.  I will never forget something as incredible as those fireworks and the truly magical show Disney put on for me and my family that rainy vacation night.

Word Count: 656