The Role Change of Nature in American Literature In the world we live in today nature can be trees, plants, and landscape formations. However, nature has its own role in society, whether that be to provide for people or just a marvelous creation formed millions of years ago, but the roles of nature have changed drastically over these years as well. What is even more interesting is that many authors describe nature in their writings at times, which allows readers to see the role of nature change throughout years of American literature. From the earliest inhabitants of America to more modern times, the role of nature has changed from being a regenerating resource to America, a way to escape obstacles, and a way to social decay. In 1620, John …show more content…
The next role change of Nature appears in the 19th century American literature work written by Henry David Thoreau. Henry David Thoreau was transcendentalist author meaning in firmly believed in the ideology that everything is natural. With that, Thoreau was opposed to a federal government that charged taxes and used men like fighting machines. Thoreau decided he had had enough of the city and being taxed unfairly by the government that he moved to Walden Pond on Hollowell Farm. Hollowell Farm was owned by another transcendentalist author, Ralph Waldo Emerson, so the two saw eye to eye. Thoreau enjoyed Hollowell Farm so much he stated, “its complete retirement” (Thoreau 888). Thoreau saw Walden Pond and Hollowell Farm as a way to escape the big city feel and the rest of society, which he thought was corrupted. Nature’s role in the 19th century has now shifted to a way to escape things in life, especially slavery. In this time period, most southern states were all slave states, which caused harsh conditions for African Americans, who would get abused by their owners. Many of the slaves tried to run from their place of work, but ended up getting caught in another slave state. That was until 1802 when the state of Ohio outlawed slavery. This provided slaves a place to escape to that was safe. In the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a slave named Eliza decides to try to escape …show more content…
The United States of America was getting involved in World War I, which called for mass produce of farm goods. The result of this was not good and sent farmers into the vulnerable downturn as they suffered in the 1920s. The wonderful nature provided was now suffering as farmers went out of business and caused for people to get jobs located in cities. In the 1925 novel The Great Gatsby documents the bootleg success of a wealthy man, but also depicts nature in a rather gruesome way. The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald has the narrator state, "This is a valley of ashes a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat” (Fitzgerald 26). Fitzgerald is depicting to readers that nature was now gone and the only thing left is ashes of the past. The valley of ashes represents the social decay of farming and how nature has now declined in a major way. The nature that was regenerate and a symbol of freedom was now nothing but ash and not nice like it has been hundreds of years before. The Dust Bowl greatly impacted nature causing nothing to prosper in nature. This was in fact one of the darkest times in American history because now nature had the image of ashes of unsuccessful people. In this century nature has now the role of reminding people of the
Mark Fiege, the author of The Republic of Nature, was able to capture the past history through the lens of nature. Nature by definition is something so simple but so broad. We as the readers must analyze the history and the effects of nature of the United States, but we must first understand what Mark Fiege was able to see through the lens of nature, how he was able to define nature. We can see such effects in the chapters of Satan in the Land, King Cotton, and Nature’s Noblemen.
Fitzgerald employs this section on the valley of ashes and Dr. T.J.Eckleburg?s billboard to criticize American society and values. He is portraying the American habit of using up what is useful or has value and leaving the waste products behind. His symbol is that the wood (valuable) was used to build a fire and then the ashes (waste products) were left behind. The valley of ashes was once a flourishing town, but was used until it was no longer valuable and was thus abandoned (like ashes after all the wood has been burned). Gatsby?s parties were also a form of social commentary in Fitzgerald?s The Great Gatsby. Gatsby?s acquisition and disposal of fruit (and rinds) in such large quantities is another example of society?s using up the serviceable and leaving the superfluous behind. The actions of Tom and Daisy also illustrate this tendency to ignore the waste products and obstacles. ? . . . Daisy accidentally runs down and kills Myrtle Wilson. Completely unnerved, Daisy speeds away . . . ?they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their wealth or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made . . .?? (Gallo 36-44)
Imagery also played a big part in describing the Valley of the Ashes illustrated in chapter two of the book. Nick, the narrator describes The Valley of Ashes as the land that lies in between the Eggs and New York. The name “Valley of the Ashes” was given to this specify area is given due to its horrible conditions. This area was very unpleasant and is considered the dead land or the waste land. “This is a valley of ashes, a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.” (Fitzgerald 23) This imagery portrays lower social class at the time period. The Valley of Ashes is very symbolic to the book as it symbolizes the plight of the poor, and characters such as George Wilson, who lives in the
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
The Valley of Ashes symbolizes the graveyard of American dreams and morality. In the book, it is described as “a certain desolate area of land” located “halfway between West Egg and New York” (Fitzgerald 23). In this corrupted area, “ash-gray men swarm with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight” (Fitzgerald 23).
One of the first symbols Fitzgerald use is The Valley of Ashes “This is a valley of ashe’s a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens; where ashes take farms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and, finally with transcendent effort of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air” (Fitzgerald 23). The Valley of Ashes is described in such great detail because it shows how beauty can be destroyed by greed. “Fitzgerald’s valley of ashes has been frequently compared to Eliot’s “Waste Land,” but the difference are more instructive than the similarities. Eliot’s waste and land is not, in terms of its imagery and mythology specifically Christian”(Elmore 433). The Valley of Ashes is a dead land that has a board over it that looks as if it is the eyes of God that sees all things.
One of the most important symbol that Fitzgerald presents is the Valley of Ashes. Introduced in chapter 2, the valley of ashes is portrayed as a dreary piece of land brimming with utter despair. It completely contradicts with the “American Dream” and West Egg, where opportunities are ubiquitous. As Nick states, “This is a valley of
The author uses the Valley of Ashes, a small town between the West Egg and New York City, to symbolize the moral and social decay that stems from the desire to become wealthy. The Valley of Ashes, "a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air symbolizes a morally stripped place where materialistic and false people can live in harmony. The unfortunate events that occur in the Valley of Ashes, including Gatsby's death, the affair between Tom and Myrtle and Myrtle's accidental death, represent the severe consequences stemming from the failed attempts at achieving the American Dream. As the characters travel through the Valley of Ashes to reach elsewhere, they are forced to belittle themselves to a lower social status, as seen when Tom engages in an affair with Myrtle, a poor-stricken woman, who solely provides another form of comfort. Serving as a symbol of social and moral destruction, the Valley of Ashes also symbolizes the condition in which the poorer American society lived during the 1920s. The description of the Valley of Ashes used through color symbolism, creates a melancholy atmosphere which allows the reader to connect the importance of the "desolate strip of land" to the negative personality changes, reflective of the 1920s, within the characters.
There were many symbols in the Great Gatsby that shows how Fitzgerald was affected by the times of the 1920s as he was writing the book. One of the places, the Valley of Ashes that was in the book and was shown in the movie was that the Valley of Ashes was a poor and dusty place. The Valley of Ashes would symbolize the poverty of the poor class and the hopelessness that goes with it. “... a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.” (Fitzgerald, pg 26.) The descriptions in the book also helps support the idea that the Valley of Ashes
It could be interpreted that Scott Fitzgerald had used the valley of ashes to foreshadows future events in the novel, which conclude with other people (Gatsby and Mr Wilson) having to deal with the effects caused by the rich (Tom and Daisy Buchanan).
The opening paragraph consists of expository dialogue that provides the setting for the region in New York known as the “Valley of Ashes”. Fitzgerald personifies the road by saying that it “hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land”. This allows the reader to envision how the pavement of the road sits alongside the tracks and the sharp angle that moves the road closer to the railroad. The description of the valley of ashes as “a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills
Nature has played an enormous part in our lives. From the childhoods of unwanted or loved trips to the country to the issue of climate change, we have all had our part to play in the matter. And yet it affects us as well. Without the presence of nature, we would not be able to survive. Both Rachel Carson and Henry David Thoreau understand the necessity of nature and humanity's lack of love for it. However, they are not without any dissimilarity. Carson's "A Fable for Tomorrow" and Thoreau's Walden are both serious, persuasive pieces that consider the current habits of the American people to be harmful and use pathos as one of their methods to convey this message. However, the differences in time periods, messages, rhetorical effects, and approaches reveal a clear rift between the two works.
Walden, by Henry David Thoreau describes the events and the thoughts that came to Thoreau all through his time living at Walden Pond in the eighteenth century. Henry David Thoreau was a poet and a theorist who experienced a life of ease so that he could create a relationship between nature, people, and God. His narrative in Walden depicted many themes, for example the significance of the natural world, the implication of development, the meaning of detail, and the connection between the body and mind. He also urbanized many theoretical ideas about living a simple and natural life, and
Again in Walden, Thoreau wrote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately” [1854]. It is quite strange that Thoreau had chosen to live in woods purposely. Perhaps one reason can be that he is a transcendentalist but one must not forget that he had discovered about the Walden Pond when he was deliberately living in the woods. However, another possible explanation can be that woods are not dominated or are controlled by anyone, nature lives freely in world. Therefore, a reader can
In American Literature many authors write about nature and how nature affects man's lives. In life, nature is an important part of people. Many people live, work, or partake in revelry in nature. Nature has received attention from authors spanning several centuries. Their attitudes vary over time and also reflect the different outlooks of the authors who chose to discuss this important historical movement. A further examination of this movement, reveals prevalence of nature's influence on man and how it affects their lives.