The Man vs. Nature
(Not All Heros Wear Capes)
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight crashed into a bridge in Washington D.C., and went right into the Potomac River. Out of all the people that were affected on that horrific day, only six people lived. This accident obviously wasn’t the worst accident that has ever happened, but to this day it is still one that everybody talks about. The people in the nation didn’t just see this event as a mechanical failure, but more like in some ways, a success. Some say that there are two different kinds of nature in collision, whether this is with the elements or with the human character. Human character would beat the natural elements in a “battle” any day.
First of all, the “man in the water” appeared to the others as very alert and in control. This is significant because when Roger Rosenblatt wrote this essay, he basically made it so the water that was swallowing all those innocent people, was just a horrible person. He used these personifications throughout the whole essay. While the waves from the water were pushing passengers under and costing them their lives, he was sacrificing his life by handing all the others the floatation devices so they would live before he did. He had great commitment to make those
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He wrote it to come to the conclusion that this man actually didn’t lose his fight like it may seem. In the essay, Emerson said, “Everything in Nature contains all the powers of Nature.” This basically means that the man had his own natural powers. Obviously he couldn’t stop the water from killing most of the people there, but he could give his life to save others that were struggling along with him. This, he believes, is a power of nature too. He battled against an impersonal enemy, and he fought all the way until his death; this is the best kind of person that a human can really be while stuck in such a horrid
Even though the oiler suffered on his journey on the open boat all of the characters were victims of life’s unfortunate and twisted series of events. These four men have possibly gone through a shipwreck that left them stranded in the middle of the ocean without any tools for survival aside from a small dinghy. This event in itself is unfortunate enough, but for these men it is barley the beginning. They endure rough seas, fatigue and endless rowing alongside several other complications during their desolation at sea. Nearing the end of the story a large and furious wave completely runs
All disasters are either natural or man-made. Majority of the United States’ most costly disasters have been natural disasters (Steinberg, 2006). Ted Steinberg, an environmental historian, uses Acts of God to analyze how American interference with nature intensifies the harmfulness of natural disasters. Steinberg (2006), states “those in power have tended to view these events as purely natural in an effort to justify a set of responses that has proved both environmentally unsound, and socially, if not morally, bankrupt”(p.19). This book selectively exhibits solid facts pertaining to specific natural disasters; namely hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. In this manner, Steinberg attempts to persuade readers of the idea that natural disasters are not outside of human control or consequence. The idea of an “act of God” was initially from the idea that natural disasters were a result of punishment for sin (Steinberg, 2006). When Americans started to venture from the idea of natural disasters being a result of human actions, the assumption arose that natural disasters were without human culpability.
The article “Into The Dark Water”, by Lauren Tarshis, is an article about the perspective of Jack Thayer on the titanic. In this article The author included a lot of quotes in the article. I think the author Lauren Tarshis included all these quotes to give you an example on how it would feel on the titanic. For an example “It was the kind of night.” Showed that even though the titanic sunk it was still a beautiful life.
This is to give a vivid imagination to the reader. At the end of the story the narrator makes some vivid similes such as “The third wave moved forward, huge, furious, implacable. It fairly swallowed the dinghy, and almost simultaneously the men tumbled into the sea”(212). Here he is speaking of the waves as if they were human by stating they are “furious” and “fairly swallowed the dinghy”. Once rescued the narrator describes the night as follows: “When it came night, the white waves paced to and fro in the moonlight, and the wind brought the sound of the great sea’s voice to the men on the shore, and they felt that they could then be interpreters.”
When it comes to superheroes, most of them have costumes, nickname, and certain powers that make them unique. The Google definitions of the term “superhero” is “fictional characters with superhuman powers.” In today’s world, there are superheroes who do not have superhuman abilities but use human materials to fight crime. Are those with natural abilities denied the title of a “superhero?”
Emerson then says "There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair." He seems to feel at one with nature. Emerson sees the serenity and peace and realizes how insignificant all of his life's problems are. He believes that there is no problem nature is incapable of remedying. As the saying goes, "Time heals all wounds." Emerson's words seem to echo that. He seems almost completely careless about all his former petty concerns.
In “The Man in the Water” author Rodger Rosenblatt shows that ordinary people can do extraordinary things but are also powerless against nature. Rosenblatt wrote in paragraph four “every time they lowered a lifeline and flotation ring for him, he passed it on to the other passengers”. The Man in the Water practically handed life on to the other passengers while his was slipping away. His actions saved the lives of very little people but for the passengers it was a massive action. In addition, this article also states that he was just as ordinary as everyone else on that flight. What made him different is that he risked his life for people that he didn’t know. In my opinion, it takes great courage for someone to be on the verge of drowning but
How hard is it to do the right thing? In the article, “The Man in the Water”, many people did the right thing right until the end. “The Man in the Water” takes place in Washington D.C., where there was a blast of winter. It was a chaotic disaster that caught the nation’s attention. In reality, not everyone is willing to be the “good guy”. Everyone have once, thought of themselves more than others but, in this article, not everyone was selfish. Not being selfish, showed heroism and bravery. In the article “The Man in the Water”, Roger Rosenblatt uses conflict and setting to develop moral courage.
Emerson and Hawthorne both focused on nature and how humans affected it, but Emerson wrote more about being optimistic than Hawthorne, whom was more of a dark romanticism writer. In the essay "Nature", Ralph Waldo says, " But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and what he touches. One might think the atmosphere was made transparent with this design, to give a man, in the heavenly bodies, the perpetual presence of the sublime"(Emerson 11). This quote demonstrates how Emerson focuses on the feel of nature to oneself being one with nature. Previously he talks about how nature offers solitude and how we should take advantage of it instead of ignoring what the world has to offer.
He makes connections through the beauty of nature, and is curious as to how it all plays a role within each human’s life. Curiosity pushes Emerson to look deeper into things and try to find answers which is something that is still very prominent in human nature today. Without the curiosity of human nature, there would be no advances or success towards new things and new ideas that fill the world.
A Comparison of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Beliefs concerning Simplicity, the Value and Potential of Our Soul, and Our Imagination.Henry David Thoreau tests Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ideas about nature by living at Walden Pond, where he discovers that simplicity in physical aspects brings deepness to our mind, our soul to its fullest potential, and our imagination to be uplifted to change our lives. These two men believe that nature is what forces us not to depend on others’ ideas but to develop our own. Nature is ever changing so we must keep searching for explanations about human life. They feel that nature is the key to knowing all.Thoreau lives at Walden Pond to find the true meaning of life. He wants to experience
This poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson is an exceptional work of his. Entirely characteristic of his poetic approach, it captures the full meaning behind the appreciation of nature, and it does so in a simple yet effective style. The poem is also, in my opinion, an effective rebuttal to the Puritan critique of the Emersonian lifestyle.
Emerson’s purpose in the essay “Nature” is to lay out and attempt to solve an abstract problem: that humans do
Emerson once said, “All men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man improves”(Emerson 2). This can mean many different things to many different people. For example, it can mean that all men attempt to base their improvements on society, however, none of them end up improving. What he is trying to say is that you will only improve if you hold yourself to one set of standards, your own. Honestly it is not surprising that he thinks this way because the inclusion of non-conformity was a common practice among transcendentalist writers. In Emerson’s story, he uses this when he says that you must not conform to society, you must be an individual.
In this work, man is an object in the middle of living nature. Nature itself draws us from dependence upon the past and invites us to a richer state of being. Do not remember the past for "[t]he sun shines today…[t]here is more wool and flax in the fields…[t]here are new lands, new men, new thoughts"(215). Which suggests that because there is always a tomorrow. Man should not focus on the present and be more concentrated on what will be happening in the future. Emerson believed that nature was beautiful and nowhere else on earth could he find the majestic settings of the macrocosm. As Emerson declares "[in] wilderness, [he finds] something more dear and connate than in streets or villages"(216). He cannot find anything more loved and kindred than in towns and cities than what he finds in nature. Unlike Thanatopsis, Emerson focuses on the living and not the defunct. He tells us that "[in] the tranquil landscape, and especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful as his own nature"(216). Man's nature is more beautiful than the outside of his exterior. Therefore, according to this attitude, man's life is just a mere dot in this world of blackness.