Classification of Nature

As humans we really need to split everything up and organize it all. It seems that humans have taken it as their god given responsibility to name and categorize everything. This feeling extends from what we can see and touch to the world of emotions and concerns triggered by nature. It seems that the majority of humans split nature into the categories of pastoral and sublime. These categories are fine by me. Though I think they exist, pastoral and sublime nature do not always have to be that way. As we shift our vantage point from us to the squirrel on the log, the marlin in the sea, the hare in the dessert, or the goat on the mountain we see these definitions shift and change. That simply is an idea that must be kept in mind, we are not the only who perceive nature. And of course from our stand point some more categories than sublime and pastoral might help in our endeavor to categorize the world.

Nature is SO Cool

A great video

From Snake to Man

Evolution. This word has many implications and debates floating around it, but there is no way to deny that it means change. Such change is constantly seen in nature and the actions of it’s inhabitants. I have recently found the most curious example of this change in “When the Snake Became a Man”. This poem illustrates change and evolution of thought in the strangest way. Unlike the normal poem, told from one perspective with the human or the nature changing, this poem is told from the point of view from the animals as they “mature” and evolve into humans. All in all this is an extremely original and weird way of depicting the interactions between man and nature, with an additional message.

Each of the stanzas of this poem are about a different animal and what happens when they become man. All of the actions that these animals take part in are actions of a human, though a bit over exaggerated. The first is a snake. This snake becomes man and starts to eat uncontrollably. In order to continue eating the snake uses a surgeon to create a hole in him that will empty his stomach so that he can continue eating. These actions are clearly ones belonging to humans. If you don’t know humans are renowned for never having enough of anything, be it food, money, gasoline, or company, and using any and every means to reach these items.

When the elk becomes man in the second stanza a very different reality is described. The elk grows his antlers so he used a supplement to force them to grow to a length that he needs help to hold them. In a completely humane way the elk makes a crane that will not only hold up his antlers but also take pictures and sort his socks. These two additional tasks are a comment on how humans always invent machines to do enough work that they don’t have to.

By the third stanza the author uses the growth of the whale as yet another cite of human growth. As the whale becomes man he bares in mind that he kills to eat, but writes it off as his nature and decides to replace the lives he takes with a song. Like with countries that send apologies to others that they have bombed, the whale struggles to replace the lives it takes with something as good and valuable. Alas, human flaws.

The last stanza, as usual, is the most interesting. In this stanza we get the main point of the poem. By the end everything has turned to man except for man himself. While living with dog, who is already man, the man changes. The dog of course notices this with disappointment and leaves. Before the dog leaves he comments that with man changing he will change the world around him, starting with throwing away the television. I view this growth of man as what the author hopes would happen. So far everything has been out of it’s normal position, dogs don’t care about television and elk don’t have growth supplements, not to mention they don’t have socks. The author wishes that man will wake up, truly become man, and change it all, like any of the animals would do if they could.

Naked Nature

I've been thinking, there is a lot of nudity in wild life, nearly too much. All the indecent exposure of fur, it's nearly disgusting. These nudists should be made to wear something, maybe a hat would do. My fear is for the children. when they go to the zoo they see these grotesque beasts walking around with no trousers on. It just scares me to think of what sort of inspiration and ideas of proper conduct the children will absorb. Maybe they will follow in the furry steps of the beasts and grow fur and walk around with no clothing on. Imagine all of the hard working companies like Macy's, Nordstrom's, Lucky Jeans, Gap, Old Navy, Juicy Something, Bloomingdales, and Victoria's Secrets that will go out of business with the next generation of shoppers walking around in nothing at all, it just isn't American.
So if you agree with me stand in front of your local zoo, naked, with a sign reading "This is what you encourage!"

Tom Sawyer and Sublime Nature

As we read Tom Sawyer we, who have read British Literature, love for the sublime of the romantics, echoed in Twain's writing. Unfortunately the sublime has not quit the effect yet that is always does in those poems. The sublime appears a few times, or has so far. So far Twain seems to stress that sublime does exist but in this story the nature tends to bend towards pastoral. As I am typing and thinking i realize that so far the interactions that are nearly sublime all deal with humans. The murder scene clearly sticks out in these examples. And it makes me think if Twain is trying to say something about the way that humans deal with nature and their affect on it. Right now I am leaning towards the fact that it is only through the eyes of the beholder whether nature is sublime or pastoral. And especially when humans interact in a sublime nature in nature, if that make sense. Basically it is humans and their interactions in nature that define the scene as pastoral or sublime.

Just a picture from my favorite nature photographer

Extra Tom Sawyer

So these are mostly thoughts that I had in class and really wanted to put up.

So I really like the description of the dog in church. I both find it very well written but it is also thought provoking. If you don't remember the lines go, "Presently a vagrant poodle dog came idling along, sad at heart, lazy with the summer softness and the quit, weary of captivity, sighing for change." In this section of the Book Twain clearly personifies the dog. Many of us asked why do so, as is done every time an object or animal is given the characteristics of a human. To every one of these incidences there are a thousand explanations and possible meanings. Personally I really like the ides that the dog represents what would happen to an animal with a human-ish consciousness, or a human was reduced to a dog.

Imagine on a hot summer's day you are a dog. You have no work, no obligation, and your only worries are finding food and entertaining yourself. Now if you were in the shoes, or paws, of the dog in the book, how would you feel? Certainly, there would be boredom and the especially desire for change. It makes you wonder if life as a conscious dog is any good and more importantly, will Tom face this fate, this nearly pointless life?

just food for thought

Natural Influences

I think the first thing that really defines a writer’s view of nature is his or her eyesight. Now, it may be a bit obvious, but it makes a huge difference. As one of the unlucky bunch that needs glasses and contacts to see, I know how big the difference between failed eyesight and perfect eyesight is. Thought many writers have eyesight as bad as mine it is close to impossible for them to not feel the sublime or pastoral in nature. To be able to sense the feeling of nature is a trait that everyone has, but when they feel it is the true difference between people. It is because of authors past histories that they view nature the way they do. Most fears and joys in life seem to come from past occurrences, and certainly these carry a huge affect of on the perception of nature if they are connected to nature. It's because of these fears and joys, you can quite easily change the subject of a passage as the writer. What I mean to say is that it is because of these past events that the author has the final say in how the subject is presented. Two people can’t see the same thing and have the same thought, so there is no way to expect that two authors will write about the same subject in the same way.

Fantasia Reaction

After watching more of Fantasia than i think i ever have, I seem to have gained more of an appreciation for the complexities and layers to it. Not only is this movie an innovation in animation but it is an innovation in stories. never before had a story been told through the medians of animation and classical music combined. the genius of this piece is undeniable. the simply perfect way that the motions and emotions of the characters fit the music is a mark as to the thought that went into this. only people like Disney would plan a film out so well that when the fairies touch the water it would work perfectly with the pre-written music.
along with the feat of constructing an animated movie Disney and his crew through in plenty for us to think about. Whether he did this on purpose or not is hard to answer but these provocations are still there.
to those that have it pointed out to, there is an interesting aspect of the sublime versus the pastoral nature. This aspect of the film certainly brings up the thought about how livable is a life filled solely with one of the two. In the end i think you need both to survive, with your mental health intact. If the world were peaceful and all pastoral it would be a bore, but in a world full of only sublime moments there would be no comfort. But as we were discussing in class i realized that what i might call sublime and pastoral others might think the opposite of. to me the call before a storm (which does exist) is awesome with its pause before hell breaks loose. And to me there are storms that are pastoral. i like living life with both.

one thing i find very impressive in this piece is the fact that the writers wrote all that in the intro to the rite of spring. To me the fact that they included all of that information about evolution is startling, because I'm pretty sure that there was just as large a community back then as there is today that prefers creationism. it really seemed to be a leap of faith for them, and at first they fell. maybe not for that reason but you could argue that they trusted the American population too much.

On the mater of the sexism and sexuality in the film, this movie was made for adult audiences and this was made in a different time then now, when the sexes are viewed as more equal. that is my final word on that, though stuff like the sexism and sexuality in this film would not fly today.