Romulus My Father Notes

“The gentle green hills which on either hand enclosed the village, tufted here and there with magnificent trees, the village itself, straggling and wide, each cottage being far apart from its neighbors and each ornamented with flower beds and shrubberies; these with a lovely stream which would through the valley, formed, as far as my memory may be trusted, one of the most exquisite panoramas, on which it has ever been my good fortune to

C. “They had no more the stomach-tearing lust for the rich acre and a shining blade to plow it, for seed and a windmill beating its wings in the air. They arose in the dark no more to hear the sleepy birds’ first chittering, and the morning wind dear acres. These things were lost, nd crops were rechoned in dollars, and land was valued by principal plus interest, and crops were bought and sold before they were planted. Then crop failure, drought, and flood were no longer little deaths within life, but simple losses of money. And all their love was thinned with money, and all

“On the outskirts of town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage. It had been built by an earlier settler, and abandoned because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivation, while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the habits of the emigrants. It stood on the shore, looking across a basin of the sea at the forest-covered hills toward the west.”

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 [the grandmother] pointed out interesting details of the scenery: Stone Mountain, the blue granite that in some places came up to both sides of the highway; the brilliant red clay banks slightly streaked with purple; and the various crops that made row of green lace-work on the ground. The trees were full of silver white sunlight and the meanest of them sparkled. (1286)

When Stephen visits Sachi’s garden for the first time, he finds that “There were no trees, flowers, or water, only a landscape made of sand, stones, rocks, and some pale green moss . . . Sachi had created mountains from arranged rocks, surrounded by gravel and elongated stones flowing down like a rocky stream leading to a lake or the sea” (40). Unlike Matsu’s very green and tree-filled garden, Sachi’s garden is very dry, and simplistic, yet has a peculiarly admirable feeling when one is able to see the subtle details. Although it is very different from a typical garden, its components harmonize to create a new and beautiful pattern. At first, Stephen is overwhelmed by the unfamiliar concept of a dry landscape, but after taking it in, he says it is beautiful. This garden is has a fresh taste to it, leaving Stephen to decide the effect it has on him, whether it be positive or negative. When creating the garden, Sachi insisted that it should not have flowers. However, eventually, “between two large rocks grew a neat cluster of blooming flowers, startlingly beautiful, a splash of blue-purple . . . thriving among the muted, gray stones.” The way that the bright colors contrast against the dull gray shows that something unfamiliar and novel can appear beautiful in its own way. Since Sachi’s garden is filled with pebbles and stones, the dainty flowers stand out comely, and to

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 author utilizes words such as “flyover region that one must endure,” “easy inclines,” “square states”, and “farmable plains.” Marquart’s description characterizes the landscape as plain and dull. At the same time her diction recapitulates a landscape which is calm and serene. The upper Midwest has “easy inclines” and “farmable plains.” It is a place that is eye-catching to those who are farming, like her grandparents, who received an portion of land.

In this poetic memoir, Engle shares her memories of her childhood in meticulous detail. She is a person who comes from two different cultures -- Cuba and California. In the quote below, Engle describes how she falls in love with the Cuba farm and how much the farm means to her. Writing in the “Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Win”, Engle said: “ I fall in love with the farm where my abuelita and her ancient mother were born. My dazzled eyes absorb the lush beauty of a land so wild and green that the rippling river on my great-uncle’s farm shimmers like a hummingbird, all the dangerous crocodiles and gentle manatees deeply hidden beneath quiet waters. Surely there must be mermaids here, and talking animals, the pale, humpbacked Zebu cows and graceful horse that roam peaceful hillsides, moving as mysteriously as floating clouds in the stormy tropical sky.” (Engle, 9) This quote shows Engle falls in love with the Cuba farm because she extols beautiful farm landscape, quiet countryside, and untrammeled animals. At first, Engle describes the green river, crocodiles, manatees, Zebu cows and horse with five different adjectives -- “rippling”, “dangerous”, “gentle”, “humpbacked” and “graceful”. Five different adjectives show the characteristics of these five things and show the first reason to fall in love with the farm -- Engle loves this beautiful and harmonious Cuba farm. The benefit of using adjectives is that the readers can easier to imagine a vivid picture of the beautiful riverside scenery. The second reason to fall in love with the farm is Engle loves mysteriously things on the farm.

In his work, The History of Rome, Livy focuses on how the standard of morality of Rome is reflected in its leader. Livy does not hide Romulus’s ignobility by only telling the mythological version of the founding; instead, Livy provides more practical explanations because this allowed him to show Romulus as the dishonorable person that Rome needed in order to establish herself. In this way Livy could better connect the integrity of early Rome with the integrity of Romulus. Livy wanted the reader to realize that Rome would have never survived unless it had a ruthless first ruler such as Romulus.

“The landscape, the whole great circle of it, grassheads, scrub, water, sky, quite took his breath away.” (Pg 17)

You wanted to answer. You wanted to tell him. You couldn't keep doing this to him. You could see the worry and hurt in his eyes. You wanted to make it better. He was concerned about you.

He looked at landscape as a way to create his own vision of nature and his close observation with nature and the sky is evident in the

The preceding passage emits to me several sentiments, which are the basis of my morality and my value system. First, I believe passionately and deeply that each and every being deserves and should demand the respect that they are due. No one being is above another and no one being should ever be treated as if they were anything less than the rational creature that they are. Second, stemming from respect, each being has the right to make their own decisions. I, and only I, am able to decide what is right for me. I am truly the master of my own destiny and not a single other person has the right to decide what is right for my life or me. Thirdly, as the master of my own destiny, I believe that reason is the master over my passions. Without this precept, my actions would not be chosen out of rationality or coherence in their justifications. Attempting to lead a wholesome life sans this principle may prove to be quite difficult.

Claude Lorrain’s Pastoral Landscape with the Ponte-Molle portrays this message by his elegant portrayal of the landscape.