To be completely honest, this reading confused me a whole lot. Well, maybe not confused, but made me think. Cronan started off talking about how early years wilderness was viewed as a wasteland and a "sublime" place. I didn't understand why the wilderness was a place you didn't want to go. Reading through the rest of the section by my self did not make me think one way or another. Discussing the reading in class, and hearing others' points of view, helped me see where Cronan's ideas came from.
I always viewed the wilderness as most of the class members did. A secluded foresty area with bears and other fuzzy animals. Maybe that idea was set in all of our heads from the exposures to movies and media when we were younger. It reminds me of the movie Bambi with all the creatures in the forest. A type of mystical and natural location away from big cities. This was not exactly reflected in Cronan's words of wilderness history.
I do agree at the end when he ties everything together, that nature is all one thing. A tree in the wilderness is natural, just like a tree in a city park is natural. They are both living plants sprouted from the ground, but in our minds we see them as separate objects. To me, the city, forests, oceans and every other part of this world is just that, a part. These parts all make up the single entity of nature.
I may not understand Cronan's thoughts on early people and their idea of wilderness, but that does not change mine. It is interesting to see how people back then viewed it as compared to our thoughts now. It was like being afraid, but we are all so interested and wanting to preserve the land.
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ReplyDelete(Deleted previous to fix an irritating mistype. Sorry)
ReplyDelete"It was like being afraid, but we are all so interested and wanting to preserve the land."
Do you mean previously, or right now, in this time period? If you mean right now, then I would have to disagree.
Because the impacts of our daily decisions on nature are sometimes harder to spot in our daily lives, our society simply doesn't care very much. Sure, we understand that someday, eventually, the consequences will catch up, but right now, everything else in our lives seems much more pressing.
Currently I fret about college, my personal life, getting a job, etc., but my impact on nature rarely crosses my mind. Why? Because today is today, and I'm focused only on what I feel will affect me today. The idea of preserving land is one that takes a longer amount of time to plan, carry out, and then follow up on.
Admittedly, nature is not very high on my interest list either. It's not that I despise it, or don't understand how important it is, but rather I have a variety of other interests I pursue, leaving me with little time or effort left for nature appreciation.
I don't think I'm alone in my thoughts either... Most people are focused on their own individual goals and lives rather than tree hugging.
I like post because i feel like i felt similar to you, although i had a bit of a different idea of the forest wilderness, I also believe the oceans, forest and cities are all of this one earth and they are all connected. It is funny as you said to think of people view nature as something different then a nice place to go for a hike. Although it is not difficult to see why they thought that s long ago due to much of their ignorance, yet it is hard to compare like how you said.
ReplyDeleteThe whole idea of being cultured into our ideas of how we think of nature.. i wonder what we would think of it without cultural impact, impossible yes but still I wonder :)
I like your honesty. You are correct about everyone's views (or most people's) on wilderness. Wilderness is a word and when asked to describe it in an English writing class based on the sustainability of the environment before any real introduction to the subject, it is intimidating.
ReplyDeleteCronon is writing about the idea of wilderness. He covers all ends of any question one could think of about it. Your part about seeing a tree in the woods and a tree in the city surrounded by buildings is kind of how I see it. Nature includes everything. But what do I mean by everything? I don't know. It has to all be broken down piece by piece, which is what I hope this class is all about... the small things we can do now are what count.
I love that you are honest with us about being confused. The entire concept we are discussing is confusing. And then if one does understand the concept, it's difficult to form an opinion. And oftentimes, those opinions end up conflicting with previous ones or other important topics at hand. However, props for admitting it because honestly, I find it annoying when people ramble on about saving the planet when they don't understand the consequences of what is going on.
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