The Belly Of The Beast : Nature Vs. Civilization

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.

I think the author thinks that human nature is basically “good” meaning cooperative and constructive because human beings are good. There is an understanding that the environment you grow up in shapes part of you as a human being and it can also shape if you are a good or bad person. Human nature can affect human beings.

Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” and Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” include parallel ideas of Man’s hopelessness in the natural world. Through out both short stories the authors bring up questions of man’s fate and his relationship with nature as well as carry a theme of naturalism. When nature seems to repeatedly play against man, the reader wonders we whether nature is cruel and sinister, making it difficult for man to live. Evidence in the the two stories such as the animal’s presence, the environments, and the different human characters, in both stories leads one to believe that nature is not in fact out to get man, but it is a neutral, indifferent factor.

He personifies nature as a human being by giving him the ability to hug and give warmth to others. He also says that people should have no worries in him because the beauty of nature is not the temporary happiness of sadness that life brings you, but the ability to breathe in air. The ability to stand up and walk. Nature has the ability to bring the best out of the worst. The narrator also says that people can truly see nature when they are isolated from society due to the fact that they can think take their time to analyze

Humans have often struggled to define their relationship with nature throughout history. In the early periods of their existence, humans were ruled by the brutality of untamed nature. They utilized nature to an extent of survival, but had not yet developed a system to thrive within it. As humans advanced, both mentally and technologically, their aptitude and desire to exploit nature increased dramatically. These two polar relationships between humans and nature are mirrored in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Aimé Césaire’s A Tempest. In The Tempest, Shakespeare fixates on Caliban’s attachment to nature and Prospero’s exploitation of it, while in A Tempest, Césaire employs nature as the dividing force between Caliban and Prospero. These two separate themes both represent the consequences that occurred throughout history as a result of two ideologies about nature colliding during colonization.

Human nature refers to the distinguishing qualities that characterize humankind. The history of human nature reveals to us that people tend to be drawn to power. People use power to exert their dominion over the weak or helpless. Power also motivates some people to engage in savagery acts.

The gasping creatures cautiously circle each other, searching for any weakness, hoping that their next blow will end this eternal battle for power. Their identities indistinguishable, both dripping with the excess of their efforts, fatally wounded from years of endless onslaughts, this is the tireless struggle between man and nature. For centuries, man and nature have come to a point where only one could survive, causing the two to become opposing forces and fight till the death. This idea of dominance between the two leading forces of earth inspires many works of literature and art such as Dr. Franklin’s Island, The Iliad, The Horse Tamers, and current events of attacks as well. Everything has been fought for in this world, from bustling cities to abundant forest, the world a battlefield of clashing ideas and opposing forces, forcing all to be a part of this great battle. The theme of man and nature clashing on the battlefield of life, constantly struggling for supreme dominance is most prominent in the novel “Dr. Franklin’s Island,” the epic poem “The Iliad,” the famous sculptures “The Horse Tamers,” and the current event involving a small child of Ottawa, Canada attacked by a pit-bull.

The meaning of Human Nature is not something that everyone agrees with. Meaning human nature is whatever one can imagine it to be; an opinion. “ Human Nature is never revealed so clearly as when he tries to describe the nature of another person.”(Jean-Paul). In these short stories, “There Will Come Soft Rain” by Ray Bradbury (1950) and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell (1924), the conflicts is to teach the reader about human’s nature. The conflict the authors puts in these stories is to express that human nature is aggressive, in being aggressive humans feel that they can gain power. For example, cavemen used aggression to gain more food and territory, when they could just have put away selfish thoughts and work together. When nature or environment changed and the cavemen, with a lot of power, did not know what to do it would probably perish. Humans destroy each

The main theme expressed by Stephen Crane in the story is nature’s indifference towards man or nature versus man. The author elaborates the realization of

The theme of the struggle between civilization and savagery is an archetype to one of life’s larger themes - humanity is chaos. Humanity is constantly fighting and bickering. It is human nature to do so. Throughout the ages, humans and technology have evolved. Human natures have not.

Human nature is what tells us apart from each other and makes us distinctly human. Our nature and understanding is what makes us different from animals and other creations due to our ability to think and reason. No other creature on this earth has that given ability. Our reason gives us the upper hand and allows us to reflect on our nature and behaviors that allows us to make changes and transform. For example, when facing adversity, we have the choice to continue with our struggles or terminate the situation; if we witness someone else’s misfortune, we have the option to follow in their footsteps or avoid making the same mistake. Human nature, gives us the capability to express our emotions, love and connect. It also allows us to display emotions and actions that are not always appropriate like hate, rape, murder and war. Despite our positive sides, as humans we are capable of destruction, competiveness and greed. Although, I strongly feel that a person’s environment and upbringing will shape their life choices, it does not automatically define who they are or

What is human nature? It is very simple. Human nature refers to the patterns of behavior that are typical of our species or our kind. Human undergoes change as all humans grow up they nature seems to change; the environment someone grow up in effects that persons nature. To fully understand human nature Dr. Marvin Harris takes us on trip to time, which makes sense because if we better understand our past and our origin we will better understand our very existence and our nature. We will know more about who we are where we are from and such other questions that puzzle the human mind.

The notion of human nature has always been historically debated. Explores, philosophers, and writers have always come to argue on what is considered to be barbarism, savagery, and civilized. These constructed categories have put a label on people who do not share the same ideas as one another. These different views of human nature have come to propel change and have come to revolutionized human history. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Michel de Montaigne, and Thomas Hobbes all differ on their ideas of human nature, but they also share common ground. For some of these men the practices of different cultures are categorized as savagery, and for others it has been viewed as noble savagery. Their ideas however have allowed society to view different perspectives of human nature. These perspectives have classified human nature as a way of life, or as an obstacle to what is consider to be the good life. Their ethnographic resources provide a glimpse to all the different cultures and their value to society and history.

Nature is merely our instrument of conquering one another. By manipulating what already exists, we create everything from nuclear warheads to high speed internet. The continuous competition between men feeds off of our technological advancement—none of which would be possible without the resources Nature provides for us. And rather than being grateful for the unequivicable power so generously offered us by our environment, we instead mock its existence. We distract from the cunningness and cruelty of our efforts toward mankind by relabeling our target ‘Nature’ rather than ‘each other’. By convincing ourselves we are somehow beginning to have Nature within our control and understanding, we forget that Nature is really only the means, not the end of our conquest. We will not be satisfied until we have defeated ourselves. As Lewis puts it, “Human nature will be the last part of Nature to surrender to Man. The battle will then be won… But who, precisely, will have won it?” (The Abolition of Man, 421)

Although most of this essay focuses on the western relationship with nature, it is important to explore the construct of nature in other societies. This avenue is imperative to this essay as many of the environmental and social issues that are present in today’s world are entangled by a certain subset of Western or European set of values denoting how to interact with the environment. These generally center around the notions of ‘development’ and ‘modernity’. Reading widely on the topic, one finds most of the literature of non-western ideals of nature are centered upon ‘traditional’ and religious views of environment. Traditional as in the constructs of nature were largely based on myths and stories, which are transferred to younger generations, usually orally. In middle eastern representation, the Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies constructions of nature ‘is marked by a strong sense of battle, nature herself is characterized in the mythology as monstrous chaos and it was only through the constant labors of the people and the patron gods chaos could be that overcome and order established” (1994:34). This construct of the struggle against nature has been present in many of the debates of human’s interactions with their environment. It serves in complete opposition of the idealistic view of the people completely in touch with nature, similar to those of traditional hunter-gatherer societies.