William Cronon The Trouble With Wilderness Summary

Stegner wants to conserve the untouched land because he fears a world with no silence. He argues for the preservation of Robbers’ Roost country, as an example, “It is a lovely and terrible wilderness, such as wilderness as Christ and the prophets went out into… Save a piece of country like that intact, and it does not matter in the slightest that only a few people every year will go into it. That is precisely its value (Stegner, Wilderness Letter).” Saving the untouched lands, he contends, is a reminder of how uncontrolled the Earth is and how timeless it remains. Others disagree with this viewpoint, one of those people being American forester, Gifford Pinchot. In his writing “The Fight for Conservation,” Pinchot argues that conservation

We should learn to respect wilderness by how it is. In the article, “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature” by William Cronon, it says that we should learn to honor and respect the wild. This concept relates with the Yellowstone National Park. It talked about how people had different views and values towards Yellowstone. Cronon mentions that we should think about nature in a sustainable way also. That means to consider it in non-use. So bears should not be fed by humans, especially since they cannot tell the difference between natural and unnatural food sources. Also, fires should not be caused intentionally because human lives and homes are at stake. Causing intentional fires can also significantly change the landscape.

As humans, or better put, as animals, we need the wilderness to remind us that we are small even insignificant. These large empty spaces, no matter where they are, forces us to realize that we are part of something bigger. When we create a world made purely of technology, we lose part of our animal selves and we are not happy. In “Wilderness Letter” Wallace Stegner outlines the idea of wilderness and how we need that idea in order to be happy. While making a point about becoming stuck forever in our own world, Stegner writes, “Without any remaining wilderness we are committed wholly, without chance for even momentary reflection or rest, to a headlong drive into our technological termite-life” (111). The wilderness allows us to be outside

The wilderness can be used to measure against the man made world, a “scientific yardstick.” Throughout the entire piece he is arguing that the importance is not what we can actually see or touch, but what we think of and

No matter in what perspective we see it, wilderness offers us a refuge that we can use to escape the cares and troubles of the world, in which our past has trapped us

“Wilderness appealed to those bored or disgusted with man and his works” (Roderick Nash). Chris McCandless, a modern transcendentalist, sent out on an adventure to find his true self in the wilderness of the North American continent. In the two years he was away, he met many individuals he called his friends and explored the extent of the American West. However, Chris was found dead in an abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail in the deep wilderness of Alaska in early September 1992. Chris believed he could live his life without the disruption of others. Henry David Thoreau believed that individuals can strive for themselves without government interruption. Chris McCandless, in Jon Krakauer’s documentary Into the Wild, believes that living off the land and life to its fullest without help from others compares to Henry David Thoreau’s beliefs in his writing “Civil Disobedience.”

Wilderness in its true state is lush, sleek, and channels water. It is because of its true natural state that is has the ability to generate billions of dollars into America’s recreational economy. One provident example, is the San Gabriel Wilderness in California. Now of course protecting this land has natural benefits,

Roderick Frazier Nash’s book, Wilderness and the American Mind, compiled contemporary debates about wilderness by outlining the changing positions concerning wilderness throughout history. In chapter 11, “Aldo Leopold: Prophet,” Nash discuses Aldo Leopold’s house metaphor. Here, Leopold refers to six vacant lots and what it would mean to build houses on all six lots. He describes how the first few houses might make sense; however once you build upon all six lots you no longer remember the meaning of the homes. He argues that they somehow the sixth house would become “stupidity.” Conversely, I disagree with this theory. I feel each house, so to speak, is built differently and suits different needs and wants. Just as in the wilderness,

The modern Environment Movement began with the passing of the Wilderness Act of 1964. The act established a National Wilderness System and created 9 millions acres. The main influence and writer of the act Howard Zahniser, who felt that we needed wilderness as it takes us away from technology that gives us perspective of mastering the environment rather than being a part of it (Nash, 2001). With the passing of the act Americans questioned both preservation and conservation. A new culture emerged in America that rejected societal norms and praised independence and freedom. This culture developed in the youth of America and sparked change in preservation growth and the overall outlook of wilderness.

Reading William Cronon and Neil Smith, I came to understand that each of the two authors introduces us to a different approach of human conceptual relationship with nature. In The Trouble with Wilderness, William Cronon speaks about how we reject our responsibility toward nature and the potential danger existing in our conception of wilderness (or nature).  On the other hand, Neil Smith in The Production of Nature introduces us to how humanity transforms the nature in the process of producing commodities.

Wilderness is beautiful gift that was given to us when the world was made. But, nowadays it seems to be people do not care about it. Have you ever thought about wilderness? Do you know who cares about nature? Do you want to help conserve it? Have you ever wonder why there are laws to protect the wilderness? This essay will inform of who has protected the wilderness, to who was directed the article, and to inform of the major problem of world.

In “Desegregating Wilderness” she says, she saw shadows of wilderness everywhere since she left Yellowstone. She says, how Michael showed her once an “eagle’s nest” which wasn’t there yet four years later he still talked about it because the pole were it nested was removed. Keith says, the Civil Rights Act and Wilderness Act have governed the land therefore, fifty years later these acts make it possible to enjoy the outdoors sometimes. She says, that therefore because of the less proximity and little amount of wild places to people this is not secure as wilderness.

Leopold presents a formerly unheard of precedent called, 'Land Ethic'. This precedent addresses how nature and the land itself ought to be approached with deference. While it does not prevent the misuse of these resources, it does assert that the ecosystem only works as a whole, and all components of it are equally important. This stems from the possibility that the biological community itself just capacities appropriately if every one of its parts are working firmly so one section is not more essential than another. Another theme is that of wild life. The wilderness is where we came from, and is still important to us but is disappearing. He makes a list of some of the vanished ecosystems of North America, and some whose remnants should be preserved. Wilderness has recreation value-- not mechanized enjoyment, but a preservation of older, now unnecessary means of travel and kinds of experiences that contrast with ordinary life. He exhibits the significance of the learning of protection by clarifying how man and nature could fall apart if people don't begin to regard and ration the biological communities around

The idea of wilderness is a human-based construct. It is highly subjective, scalable, and represents different things to different people. Wilderness can be defined many ways, from a widely uncultivated land, to a deeply personal experience, and anywhere in-between. It depends entirely on the historical context assigned to it by humans. To Eastern cultures, wilderness was seen as a connection between oneself and the universe. To Western cultures, wilderness was a dangerous, uncivilized place. Wilderness can be considered as having a history because it is history. The wilderness existed long before the early days of humanity (in fact, the wilderness is where scientists often go when looking for answers about various aspects of the Earth’s history), but it was humanity who associated various philosophies to the wilderness. If wilderness is a place untouched by humans, then the places touched by humans, referred to as “civilization” in this assignment, must be intricately intertwined with wilderness- one cannot exist without the other.

Nature and wilderness were very important ideas to some extant for St. John de Crevecoeur and Ralph Waldo Emerson, each had their own opinions and ideas that contrasted against each other and were somewhat similar to each other. Emerson who valued it and looked at the nature as something to proud of had used it many times in his works as examples and that we are part of nature as well and make whatever choices from it as it can from us. While Crevecoeur believes that in every land it has its own form of culture as it does its own kind of nature, and describes how the land and nature was then and how it will be giving details of it in his pieces of work. How they use and see nature is described equally important in both their works “the American Scholar” and “What is an American” but shows how different their views really are in them.