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Shirley Jackson's Perception Of Nature

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Shirley Jackson creates an atmosphere of a gloomy, dark, mysteriously fantastical wood through the twisted encounters of Christopher and the woods and dark interactions between man and nature to show the effects of the “real world” on the perception of nature. Christopher is walking through the woods for days on end with no plan, no end point. His interactions with nature show his apparent hatred and bitter attitude toward it. “Wearily moving his feet because he had nothing else to do, Christopher went on down the road, hating the trees that moved slowly against his progress, hating the dust beneath his feet, hating the sky, hating this road,” (Jackson 1). Jackson repeatedly utilizes the word ‘hate’ in a variety of forms to portray Christopher as teenager of young adult full of animosity towards all aspects of nature. The sky, the dust, the trees and more are all parts of nature and all things that Christopher seems to be very upset over. Jackson also uses the word “wearily,” to describe Christopher’s emotion …show more content…

“Christopher approached the house as he would any house, farmhouse, suburban home, or city apartment, and knocked politely and with pleasure on the warm front door. ‘Come in then,’ a woman said as she opened it, and Christopher stepped inside…” (Jackson 2). Jackson introduces the woman who answered the door so subtly it seems as though the stone house was subconsciously Christopher’s intended destination. Christopher doesn’t even have to say anything; his knock on the door prompted the woman, Phyllis, to open the door and nonchalantly invites him to come in as though she was expecting a guest. Christopher’s interpretation of the picturesque stone house being encroached on by the mass of trees surrounding the perimeter shows his interaction with nature and reinforces his paranoid feelings towards

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