From Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

     Nature is an integral part of Thoreau's life in From Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. Through nature, Thoreau attempts to bring meaning of life through the simplicity found through his environment around Walden Pond. Thoreau shows a deep connection to his environment living at Walden Pond. This was Thoreau's way of making the most out of his life and said, "I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life." Nature was life to Thoreau. Nature was the reality to Thoreau's life.
     The theme of simplicity life and nature are immersed in the way he is living around Walden Pond. Henry was proud of the fact that he built his own house through tools that were essentially free. He realized the ideas of making several things more simple whether its walking instead of taking the train or building things yourself. Thoreau would be outraged by society today. He would see the advancement and complication life now has. The theme of simplicity surrounding Thoreau's writing seems to have disappeared in todays society.

Imitation: 7 P.M., Thursday, August 25, 2005; Blood Dazzler p. 5

Original:

I see

                    what this language does

and taste

                    soil on my tongue

and feel

                    brick splintering spine

and hear

                    them

and want it

                   all


Imitation:

I see

                  the art of sand as inhabitants hurdle through the castle gates

and taste

                  the tingle of refreshment as ice touches the tongue

and feel

                  the blistering rays as they penetrate the skin

and hear

                 the crash of the shoreline as sand and bodies are swept into the lake

and I want it

                 forever



Description: I decided to take a different approach to place as I decided to describe a positive rather than the negatives Patricia Smith uses by using similar language found in her poems.

Blood Dazzler Poems by Patricia Smith

     Whenever a natural disaster occurs, horrific images of destruction and suffering may flash through peoples' heads. They invoke deep thought and emotion. In Patricia Smith's Blood Dazzler, poems illustrate emotion, destruction, scenes, and stories all through her writing on the experiences people faced after Hurricane Katrina. Smith gives readers the opportunity to attempt to feel like they were part of the destruction and devastation prevalent throughout and after Hurricane Katrina. Through poems like What Was the First Sound on page 19, Smith provides details the sights, sounds, colors, and feel after Hurricane Katrina hit. Using such details provides readers with an eerie feeling of being there and experiencing what Patricia Smith is seeing or experiencing herself. She does a wonderful job in putting readers in her shoes at it is tough to do when destruction can be extremely visual. The fact that Smith provides character in the Hurricane, often using first person to personify it, allows for Hurricane Katrina to seem more real and relatable to people around the country that haven't experienced the disaster first hand. Although people may not get quiet the credibility from Patricia because she is from New York, not New Orleans, she still does an excellent job conveying and bringing out emotion through the scenes and stories her writing portrays. I did not have a problem with her being an outsider as she did seem to have a connection and even sympathized for New Orleans, which allowed her to gain a connection with the disaster and her readers as well.

The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

Imagining oneself on a warm, lazy summer day, one may fail to notice the nature around them as the sun blares down onto their skin. Through details of a summer day, Mary Oliver challenges the reader to think about the smaller things in nature as she focuses in on a grasshopper. Oliver seems to be saying that being able to take notice, pay attention and appreciate the smallest of creatures is very similar to saying a prayer as she says, "I don't know exactly what a prayer is" as she described the grasshopper. Oliver seems to be asking her readers to spend a lifetime or even a day being able to appreciate and understand nature. She offers a profound, yet delicate example of life and illustrates it as a precious gift. The use of the grasshopper is random, yet emphasizes beauty and contribution to life. Also, I had noticed that there were no rhymes in the poem, possibly symbolizing the unpredictable pattern of life as we see it. Through the lines, "Who made the world?" and "Tell me, what else should I have done," Oliver seems to be symbolizing the journey through life from birth to death. Through the use of the grasshopper and details of life, Mary allows the reader to see that life is being taken for granted and that one must stop and look at nature around them and appreciate what God has given us.

Is This Kansas by Eula Biss

     Stereotypes are prevalent in all aspects of life. One stereotype that affects students my age is the typical college party stereotype consisting of alcohol, sex, and drugs. Through Eula Biss' essay "Is This Kansas," she examines the college experience through her view as a professor at the University of Iowa. Biss looks at the truth surrounding college campuses and opens by describing a scene of, "The car crashes, the falls from balconies, the alcohol poisonings. The football game days, on which cars crept toward the stadium in long, slow lines and everyone wore black and gold. The empty plastic cups under bushes, the idle boys on decaying porches, the midnight Ping-Pong tournaments, the windows illuminated by neon beer signs" (131-132). Biss uses short, quick language to paint a scene of a 'typical' college night and the nature of college students.

     Through Biss' experience at the University of Iowa and interactions with students, Biss sees how non-observent and ignorant the students may be. In Biss' last year at the University of Iowa, a major tornado struck Iowa City, resulting in severe damage to the college town. Biss' details the students' reactions of the storm by describing the scene as entertainment to students as, "Some students dragged a couch into the street and sat on it, while some others gathered around cases of beer in a parking lot." These are the details that stick out as they make the reader feel emotion towards the students' actions as well as picture the ironic image of the students sitting back on a couch watching the destruction that lay in their streets. The students are even hypocritical as they pointed out the wrongdoings associated with the citizens of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina like looting, robberies, and other such incidents, while they were doing it themselves after the tornado. The disrespect on behalf of the students to the environment and surrounds really illustrates what lies ahead in our future. Being able to read and connect with the environment present at University of Iowa, I kind of wonder to myself if that would be the case here or at any other college campus? Through the details given by Biss, it is really easy to be able to picture this happening anywhere, but in reality I hope that its only an isolated experience.

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams

     Memories are an important part of our everyday lives. Whether recalling a math problem discussed in class or reminiscing on an event from childhood, these memories continue to establish emotion even if they have passed. In Terry Tempest Williams' Refuge, vivid memories of landscape, locations, and the environment are recalled that help establish setting and emotion for the reader. Although several important memories were mentioned, the most important seems to be of the trip to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge with her grandmother. 

     Through Williams' memory of this refuge, a clear connection can be made through the "subjugation of women and nature." The author grew up in Utah where atomic bomb testing was common. As a result, several women in her family encountered health problems that resulted in their death. Through these experiences, Williams develops a unique bond or connection with the environment around her. One such situation that illustrated Williams' passion and connection to nature was the discovery of an erased mound that was used by the burrowing owls. Terry clearly expresses her angered emotions when she says, "I knew rage. It was fire in my stomach with no place to go." The connection with her homeland and the owls fuels her emotion in the gestures made to the insensitive men at the Canadian Goose Gun Club. 

     The details present through the experiences and connections Williams has with her life experiences and nature are the ones that most stood out for me. The attention to detail allows for the reader to feel a greater connection to the land and environment surrounding Terry. Through these details, one can develop the same emotion Terry is experiencing as she sees changes in nature and around her environment. These details brought a sense of change as nature brought Terry a sense of life, but has also illustrated the anger she feels at the destruction continuing to be made. On a broader scale, these details allow the readers to think about their own environment and what they can do to help as well.