I Went To The Woods Essay - 978 Words

The rustle of the wagons whispers compared to the hustle and bustle of the old Eastern cities. Miles and miles of dirt mixes with dust and horse hooves, leading to an ever present grit of sand in ones teeth. Skin boils under the blistering sun, and freezes steel solid during the night. Danger lurks imminently. The natural world wows 19th century Americans with her terrifying power, and Native Americans don’t take very kindly to the intrusion on their land. In an emergency, people were often left to fend for theirself. Out on the Westward frontier, there was no telling when one’s next encounter with other people would be - days, weeks, or even months. Despite a myriad of obstacles, our ancestors raced across the new continent, America,†¦show more content†¦It is of the utmost importance for us to preserve and protect these slices of natural paradise. Nowadays many people take these parks for granted, but these public lands were originally a uniquely American idea: that a nation’s wonders should be available to the whole public, not reserved for a select few. Most of us support preserving parts of America’s natural beauty. However, for American men who originally traveled west back in the 1800s wilderness was seen less as a thing of beauty and more like an obstacle to overcome. These men were faced with pure unrestricted nature, in which they had to hunt, trap, and extract resources from the land. It was only later, as masses of families in wagon trains began to cross the continent, that the fragile land began to seriously show the devastating effects of man. Humans stampeded across the continent, wiping it of resources: the wilderness began to recede and portions of prehistoric civilization were lost (W. Hodding Carter). As time went on, appreciation for unspoiled nature grew. The naturalist John Muir spoke of how the great wilds of our country, once held to be boundless and inexhaustible, are being rapidly invaded and overrun†¦and everything destructible in them is being destroyed†. Spectacular natural areas in the American West were publicized and romanticized by authors like Henry David Thoreau, and many Americans began to see the need to protect examples of the nations heritage andShow MoreRelatedThe Differences Between Thoreau s And White s Writings855 Words   |  4 Pagesasks themselves, â€Å" What am I doing?†. Similar problems had also happened to both writers Henry David Thoreau and E.B. White. Thoreau, in â€Å"Why I Went to the Woods† went and â€Å"lived in the woods† and he did this becau se he wanted to determine what was really important in life. White had an identity crisis due to his past memories and had the fear of losing himself into his son as described in â€Å"Once More to the Lake†. While some similarities between Thoreau’s and White’s essays are noticeable, the differencesRead MoreRelationship between Man and Nature in Emerson and Thoreau859 Words   |  3 PagesWaldo Emerson was an American Transcendentalist poet, philosopher and essayist during the 19th century. One of his best-known essays is Self-Reliance.† He was born on May 25, 1803, in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1821, he took over as director of his brother’s school for girls. In 1823, he wrote the poem Good-Bye.† In 1832, he became a Transcendentalist, leading to the later essays Self-Reliance and The American Scholar. Emerson continued to write and lecture into the late 1870s. He died on April 27Read MoreThe Literary Movement of Transcendentalism Essay exam ples872 Words   |  4 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The concept of transcendentalism is clearly expressed in the essay quot;Naturequot;, by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson was a leader in the movement of transcendentalism and the first American author to influence European thought. His essay quot;Naturequot; tells of how one can gain insight and spiritual cleansing simply from experiencing nature. Emerson tells of how quot;in the woods is perpetual youthquot; and quot;in the woods we return to reason and faith.quot; These lines exemplify theRead MoreAnalysis Of Civil Disobedience, By Henry David Thoreau713 Words   |  3 Pagesinfluential authors of all time in the eyes of many. Though some might be led to believe his essays and writings, including â€Å"Where I Lived, and What I lived For†, make him a down to earth and even rugged author, as he spent some of his life in the forest. However, his life in the woods was not one of heavy duty work and he often was supported with objects and material possessions, contrary to what many of his essays describe. Although some might think of him as a cheater or a liar, Thoreau’s conflictingRead MoreAnalysis Of Stopping By The Woods923 Words   |  4 PagesEssay Introduction Stopping by the woods and Acquainted with the Night written by Robert Frost. The poem Stopping by the woods shows us that the setting of the poem is in a dark which is also the darkest night of the year in snowy forest. This poem also teaches us the overall theme of the poem which is a life lesson and the lesson is that life should be lived to its fullest and not by using shortcuts, and that people should view their life positively. The poem Acquainted with the Night shows usRead MoreThe Battle of the Ants Analysis1107 Words   |  5 Pagesbegins with Thoreau casually walking out to his wood-pile as he stumbles upon the battle between the red ants and the black ants. After this, he compares these ants to humans, making the allegory apparent from the start. â€Å"It was the only battle which I have ever witnessed†¦ On every side they were engaged in deadly combat, yet without any noise that I could hear, and human soldiers never fought so resolutely† (575). Thoreau uses h yperbole early in his essay to reinforce its anti-war theme as he describesRead MoreSexuality, Identity And Media Audiences Essay1567 Words   |  7 Pagesqualitative audience studies, this essay aims to discuss the extent to which sexuality plays a role in media audience’s identity construction. Furthermore, this essay argues that sexuality is significantly influenced by hegemonic discourse surrounding masculinity and heteronormativity. Foucault eludes to this idea nothing that both â€Å"†¦ the formation of identities and practices are related to, or are a function of, historically specific discourses† (qtd in Pinkus). I aim to expand upon this concept byRead MoreHenry David Thoreau and the Counterculture1357 Words   |  6 Pagestranscendentalist. He compiled a novel titled Walden, a non-fiction depicting his stay at Walden Pond where he truly explored nature and his transcendental quality. Similar to Thoreau, the Counterculture was a non-conformist group, d uring the 1960’s and 1970’s who went against societys norms and became their own sub-culture. They too were highly considered transcendental. The counterculture of the 1960’s and 1970’s was heavily coerced by Henry David Thoreau’s ideas and shared comparable facets of exhibiting a strongRead MorePersonal Experience Of An Early Childhood Setting956 Words   |  4 PagesThis essay will identify and describe a personal experience of the student in an early childhood setting which required both leadership and management. The situation will be critically analysed and discussed in terms of developing vision; leadership style; team; and communication. This year, my team leader, the team leader of the preschool room, decided to set up wood as a provocation to make crosses, and create ‘The Field of Remembrance’ on the Anzac day. Carters provided us wood for making theRead MoreSummary Of Wood Polish By Kristen1118 Words   |  5 PagesWinning Essay Wood Polish by Kristen I never go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Ever. I can sleep through anything. I don t know why I did that night. Passing to the bathroom, I stopped on the landing that faces the first floor. My mother was sobbing, which was no surprise. She s never been quiet or easy to hide. When she lived with us, I never had a friend inside the house. Not once. It was filled with piles of trash. We put the Christmas tree up on a pile of trash, if it went up at