Analysis Of Edward Abbey 's Desert Solitaire

Through a multitude of significant changes physically, conceptually, economically, and more, the societal reformation of cities in the Progressive Era had set themselves as the foundations of American civilization. The juxtaposition between the rich and poor statuses in these urban areas show the drastic separation within developing cities. Through this division caused a wide variety of living conditions, the majority of which held the overcrowded sections of cities where the population mostly stayed while the higher end communities had more luxurious lives. Through this success of entrepreneurship and economic growth from all aspects in cities, the entire landscape, both physically through innovative architecture and the perspectives outside rural and suburban areas had on them, had transformed for the better in these areas.

In “New Axioms for Reading the Landscape: Paying Attention to Political Economy and Social Justice,” Don Mitchell incorporates old ideas from Peirce F. Lewis’s original “Axioms for Reading the Landscape.” At the same time, Mitchell includes new ideas into his axioms. In Axiom 1, he explains that “the landscape is not produced through ‘our unwitting autobiography’ (as Lewis describes it), but as an act of (social, not individual) will” (2007, 34). He also stresses the idea that landscape should be produced as a commodity. In contrast, Neil Smith explains the main causes behind gentrification. Smith explains how gentrification happens through a process which he calls “rent gap” (1979, 545). In gentrification, the landscape is a commodity because it loses and gains monetary value through disinvestment and investment.

1. Karl Jacoby book brings the remarkable accounting of the negative aspects of conservation movement to the sunlight. Jacoby uses the early years of Adirondack Park, Yellowstone National Park, and the Grand Canyon Forest Preserve to demonstrate his theme of the locals’ reactions to the creation of the park and the actions from the conservationists. And the fantasies the early conservationists’ promulgated of the locals of being satanic rapists of the environment are dispelled (193).

In Thomas Cole’s Essay on American Scenery, the reader is able to appreciate Cole’s predilection and love for the American scenery. It is his belief this scenery is superior to the European scenery, since the latter’s “primitive features of scenery have long since been destroyed or modified … to accommodate the tastes and necessities of a dense population.” However, Cole presents his audience with a gloomy prophecy about America’s future, which he believes will be the same as Europe’s. Still, while acknowledging that industrialization could eventually take over many natural regions, Cole is hopeful that nature will remain victorious, since it will still be predominant. Because of this, he advises the American people to take advantage of

In the essay, “A Literature of Place”, Barry Lopez expresses the importance of nature as it applies to human life. Through this he states that humans’ imagination are inspired by the scenery around them. Lopez revolves around a central perspective; Ancient american literature has always been rooted in nature. By acknowledging that modern human identity has been interpreted by nature, Lopez describes how the landscape of an area can shape the structure of the communities and how it can help with spiritual collapse. Nature writing has often been summarised by being one of the oldest threads in american literature. With our nation's aging one needs to reflect on their literary past; therefore, Lopez insists that we find our path to nature that

She became accustomed to the perception of a desert being portrayed as dull and lifeless (Being raised in Kentucky) until this trip. Throughout this scene, she expresses her fascination for nature, and uses a tone of awe and allurement while describing the attributes about the land with metaphors. This narration occurred following the first rainfall, when Mattie and Taylor decided to go to the desert. This passage which is distinctive of Kingsolver’s portrayal of the natural landscape shows her sudden awareness diverse atmospheres. By linking to the scenery to “the palm of a human hand”, the author uses the literary device of personification with the mountains and the town. Her phrase “resting in its cradle of mountains” associates the basin to a child, and the phrases “city like a palm”and“life lines and heart lines hints a grown-up. The terrain exemplifies a life from the beginning to end. Taylor describes the land my linking each attribute with lots of metaphors, which then confirms that the tone is “wonder and allurement” because it demonstrates that she is emotionally connected to the

The book “Changes in the Land” by William Cronon in summary is based on environmental history where science, social science, the way society affects human nature and vice-versa is all combined into his narrative. With that being said, he believed that humans are dependent on nature, and nature is something that’s either made or broken by humans. Same goes for vegetation and land area. He wrote about conflicts between two cultures, where when the settlers came in to New England, they took over the Native American’s home. The power the settlers had over the Native Americans grew so strong that it got to a point where the rule of usufruct was put in place, where Native Americans could make use of any natural resource on earth as long as it wasn’t being needed by another person.

Berry’s mention of the farmer and an understanding of his farm is a constant theme in this essay. Agriculture, a distribution of products born from the earth and its entrance into our bodies as nourishment, describes an interdependence. The development of highways, industry, and daily routine of work and obligation, has caused a romanticization of wilderness. High mountain tops and deep forests are sold as “scenic.” Berry reminds the reader that wilderness had once bred communities and civilization, and that by direct use of the land, we are taught to respect and surrender to it. But by invention of skyscrapers, airplanes, we are able to sit higher than these mountain tops and this is his first representation of disconnect from Creation. Mechanical invention leads one to parallel themselves with godliness, magnifying self worth and a sense of significance. What is misunderstood is that through this magnification, because there is no control or limit, we “raise higher the cloud of megadeath.” Our significance is not proved by the weight of our material wealth, rather

To people foreign to California, the state is boxed into a set of stereotypical characteristics. The Golden State has received labels such as ‘surf nation,’ and ‘liberal land.’ But to those who’ve gotten a chance to live within this great state appreciate the opportunities and ambitions that come with living in California. Furthermore, what truly differentiates California from any other place in the world is the consistent paradoxical environment. This notion is best epitomized by the city of Sacramento and the cultural, economic and social change that the city has undergone. Gary Snyder communicates this theme through building around John Muir’s ideologies in his work of “Covers The Ground.” Snyder’s work exemplifies the contradiction between nature and innovation. It presents the paradoxical state individuals around the world face on whether to accept the innovation and accept the benefits that come with it, or stay true to the roots of nature and the history that accompanies it. This dilemma boils down to whether we as a race embrace the progression of time and the paradoxes that follow, or we find solace in our current state.

Abbey attempts in his article to help the reader visualize Glen Canyon before it was dammed up. He uses a lot of pathos to help the reader "feel" the beauty of the previous Glen Canyon and the ugliness of the present. His article

At the beginning of the semester, I read Peirce F. Lewis’s “Axioms for Reading the Landscape.” Lewis interprets landscapes through a set of rules which he calls “axioms.” In weeks four and five, I was assigned to read Joshua Jelly-Schapiro’s “High-Tide, Low Ebb,” Rebecca Solnit’s “Little Pieces of Many Wars,” and Raymond Williams’s “Culture is Ordinary.” Within Jelly-Schapiro’s and Solnit’s articles, there are two different maps provided by Shizue Siegel and Ben Pease that illustrate and support both Jelly-Schapiro’s and Solnit’s arguments. Jelly-Schapiro focuses on the demographic and racial changes that transpired during and after World War II in San Francisco Bay, California. While Solnit, examines the historical landscape changes that took

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey begins in the area surrounding Moab, Utah. He discusses his intense love and adoration for the land. This theme of laying out the land for the reader continues from Chapters 1-5. It is apparent the Abbey adores nature in its purest form. Abbey rarely has visitors of the human kind, he is more often visited by snakes, deer, birds, and other wildlife than the parks superintendent, the chief park ranger, and a few tourists here and there. Abbey finds himself a little lonely from time to time in the beginning of the book but by Chapter 3: The Serpents of Paradise he finds a friend. He first encounters a not so friendly creature, a faded midget, a poisonous rattlesnake lying underneath his doorstep. Abbey often finds himself talking to the animals in this book, so he decides to issue the snake a warning and remove it. When it comes back to the trailer a second time, Abbey keeps his promise and kills the snake. Eventually, he finds another snake, which he recognizes is an enemy to the rattlesnake, and he sets out to domesticate it. Abbey decides to take it on excursions with him, wrapping the snake around his waist underneath his shirt. Eventually, the snake was released and never returned. In Chapter 4, Abbey focuses more on the plants in the region, citing his favorite wildflower, the cliffrose, and going over his weekly schedules. His busiest days are the weekends when campers come, after he cleans, makes his rounds, takes a couple days off, restocks supplies, and then starts all over again. Chapter 5, is when things start to get heavy. It is at this point Abbey starts revealing how truly frustrated he is with the US government and the tourists. Abbey is fiercely protective of the park and soon discovers that roads will be paved in the park to increase tourism. He is horrified at the aspect of a new road because he sees automobiles as an enemy to the National Park industry. To Abbey, cars limit tourists from actually see the land, stating that a short distance on bike or foot is much more appreciated than a very long distance in a car. He also suggests a new plan for national parks in order to preserve their authenticity. Abbey thinks that tourists should travel to the campsites

In chapters two and three titled “Sites” and “Movements” respectively, Howard makes the case that there is a “dialectical” relationship between the subject and the landscape (both social and physical) and

The building of Central Park was one of nineteenth-century New York’s most massive public works projects. Some 20,000 workers – Yankee engineers, Irish laborers, German gardeners, and native-born stonecutters – reshaped the site’s topography to create the pastoral landscape. After blasting out rocky

From the Riverside Park in Easton, PA, the Delaware River looks serene and uninhabited. There are lots of trees around; the water is flowing gently. I see a few ducks swimming in the water and some birds flying overhead. I listen to the sounds: the birds chirping, the water flowing, the wind blowing, and then I hear the cars passing by on the road nearby. I look up and am suddenly reminded that I am not alone with nature. Still, the only indications of human civilization are the two bridges, the road, and the scattering of buildings on the other side. Despite the natural scape being surrounded by human development, it still looked peaceful and harmless. One would have never guessed that this seemingly innocuous waterscape was once the source