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= Society and Its View of Nature =


 * __Pre-Colonial Society's view of nature:__**

In precolonial times, there were two main views on nature. The Native Americans were respectful of the balance of nature and took only what they needed. In an alternate version of the Iroquois creation story, the good spirit taught humans how to grow corn, implying that they could alter nature to survive if they needed to. The Bible stated that God named man the caretakers of the Earth and all of its creatures, implying that man can twist nature until it suits him. Some literary works, authors, and notes that demonstrated the view of precolonial and colonial society's views toward nature include: __Genesis__, Cotton Mather, Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, Benjamin Franklin, Crevecouer, and Irving. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, views the world as God's creation and man as his appointed caretaker of it. In Genesis 1, God gave man all the creatures and plants of Earth to use for his needs, this implies that nature exists for man to exploit and use. Crevecouer portrays settling the new world in a romantic light. He Talks about how all farmers are equal and that everybody is just trying to survive. To Crevecouer, settling the new worlds and taming the wild is a way of life. Irving portrays nature as having small sections that are haunted by spirits or other mischievous creatures. In Rip Van Winkle, Rip was in the forest and a small gnome gave him magickal liquor that made him fall asleep for many years. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane wandered along the road haunted by the headless horseman, a lone pocket of nature that was a foreboding and evil place. Cotton Mather depicted nature as something to be feared. According to him, the woods are where the devil lives. Back in his time, the woods were a dangerous place and superstition was prevalent in the populace, leading many to fear and hate nature. Unlike Cotton Mather, Jefferson viewed nature as an exploitable resource. In his notes on Virginia, Jefferson attempts to assess nature in a quantifiable way. his only care about nature was how much it was worth. Jefferson was one of the first notable people to view nature as a resource and this kind of thinking became widespread by the end of the 19th century.

__Modern Society's view of nature:__
Today, part of society views nature as something to be exploited while the other part views nature as something to be saved. The exploiters only see money and resources when they look at wilderness and nature. Conservationists see recreation and something that should be cherished by people when they look at nature. I view nature as a place of solitude. A place where one can go to escape human expectations and limits. During the nature walk I went on with my class, I observed the calming effects of being in nature. Nature should be preserved as much as possible for as long as possible so that future generations can enjoy its many benefits. Others view nature as "an uncontrollable anarchy, that has always been, and always will be around. No matter how much we tear it down or take from it, it will always be there." Some literary works that illustrate society's view of nature in modern times include: __Encounters with the Archdruid__, __The Idea of a Garden__, __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn__, __Maggie: A Girl of the Streets__, and __The Great Gatsby__. There are also some media works that demonstrate the relationship between society and nature in post-colonial times such as: __The Chicago World Fair__ and __Koyaanisqatsi__. In __Encounters With the Archdruid__, there were two views on nature that were most memorable. Those views were the extremist preservation view of Brower and the other was the recreation view of Dominy. Brower viewed nature as something that should be left untouched by humans. Dominy viewed nature as something that should be accessible to all, a view that he used dams to realize. In The Idea of a Garden, a compromise is made over what should be done with a semi-natural place that has become part of a community that was destroyed. The compromise reached after its destruction was unacceptable because it left a divide between the community and nature that might but probably won't go away as time passes. Nature plays a very big roll in Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn lumps society into two groups, good people and the vagabonds. The good people like the Widow Douglas are found in the towns, while the vagabonds such as Huck's dad are found in between towns and out in the woods and mountains (nature). At the beginning of the story, when Huck and Tom pretend to be robbers, they meet with other boys in a cave outside of town. The cave is located out of town because nature and areas "outside of the town" are associated with lawlessness and violence as shown throughout the story. Huck's dad is a good example of nature being lawless in this story, he lives out of the town in the woods and only comes into town to get drunk and cause trouble. He beats Huck on a regular basis and even tries to kill him at one point. The murderers on the boat and the Grangerfords feud with the Sheperdsons are perfect examples of nature's association with violence since all of the fighting occurs outside of or on the outskirts of town and the murderers are found stranded in the river. Huck later runs into two crooks that are fleeing a town for swindling its population, this further illustrates the stories view of civilization bringing law and order. However, in chapter 21, the story contradicts itself when a townsman murders a well-liked drunk named Boggs, who only comes into town once a month to get drunk. The river that Huck travels on with the Jim, a runaway slave, is part of nature but also feels like part of civilization when it is mentioned during the story. The river symbolizes freedom for Jim and a new life for Huck. While being dangerous when foggy, the river is also a safe haven for Huck and Jim during the nights. In Maggie, A Girl of the Streets and the movie about the Chicago World Fair, Society was portrayed in a negative tone, further strengthening the view that living in nature creates a better person than living in society. Society is portrayed as dirty, hopeless and violent in Maggie. The opening scene in the book was of boys viciously fighting each other with rocks while people watched, emphasizing the violence and savagery that occurred regularly in society. The parents aren't much better, the father being a violent man that would get drunk frequently to escape the mother, a horrible alcoholic that was by far the worst character in the book. Maggy fell for a man named Pete during the story and he ended up abandoning her after her family disowned her, showing how cruel society could be. Near the end of the book, Maggie is found dead after prostituting for an unknown period of time, demonstrating that people had a hopeless future of either dying or becoming stuck in the poverty cycle like Jimmy, the boy in the fight during the beginning, was. The story shows that society can have its own version of wilderness, where you have to be tough and violent to survive. In sharp contrast, the Chicago Worlds Fair made society seem like a great place that was beautiful, grand, and wealthy. There were grand buildings that appeared to be built out of marble and technological discoveries and wonders of engineering were being showcased throughout the fair. However, beneath the surface, the buildings were just wood and steel frames covered in staff, showing that society was only grand on the surface. There were thieves and con-artists that worked the crowds in the fair, showing that wherever people gathered in groups (society), there would always be trouble. Another, less hidden part of the fair was a large section dedicated to prostitution and alcohol called "The Entertainment Concourse" that, while not officially part of the fair, was much visited throughout the duration of the fair. The Entertainment Concourse displayed things similar to occurrences in Maggie, A Girl of the Streets furthering the image of society as a morally devoid place. The World Fair also had its own set of rules, if you didn't have money to spend, you weren't going to be able to see all of the attractions and fully enjoy the fair. Both Maggie, and the World Fair displayed that in society, if you don't have money, life is hopeless and miserable. The Great Gatsby makes the idea of nature more attractive through its display of the drama and violence that can occur in society. In the Great Gatsby, violence occurs frequently and is rarely ever punished. Some examples of this include when Tom breaks Myrtle's nose and nobody in the room even lectures him for it, another is when the man from the ashes shoots Gatsby, and yet another is when Daisy runs over Myrtle and doesn't get into any trouble.There is drama throughout the book when rumors are being told about Gatsby by Jordan and other various people. Overall, The Great Gatsby paints a dark picture of society as a dangerous and horrible place. __Koyaanisqatsi__ was a silent movie that contrasted nature to the city. The movie uses music to set a peaceful mood for nature and the music slowly turns dissonant and rushed to emphasize the rushed aspect of city life. By the end, the viewer starts to want the movie to change or stop, this gets the movies point across about city life, it needs to change or stop.

In precolonial times, there were two main views on nature. The Native Americans were respectful of the balance of nature and took only what they needed. In an alternate version of the Iroquois creation story, the good spirit taught humans how to grow corn, implying that they could alter nature to survive if they needed to. The Bible stated that God named man the caretakers of the Earth and all of its creatures, implying that man can twist nature until it suits him. Some literary works, authors, and notes that demonstrated the view of precolonial and colonial society's views toward nature include: __Genesis__, Cotton Mather, Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, Benjamin Franklin, Crevecouer, and Irving. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, views the world as God's creation and man as his appointed caretaker of it. In Genesis 1, God gave man all the creatures and plants of Earth to use for his needs, this implies that nature exists for man to exploit and use. Crevecouer portrays settling the new world in a romantic light. He Talks about how all farmers are equal and that everybody is just trying to survive. To Crevecouer, settling the new worlds and taming the wild is a way of life. Irving portrays nature as having small sections that are haunted by spirits or other mischievous creatures. In Rip Van Winkle, Rip was in the forest and a small gnome gave him magickal liquor that made him fall asleep for many years. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane wandered along the road haunted by the headless horseman, a lone pocket of nature that was a foreboding and evil place. Cotton Mather depicted nature as something to be feared. According to him, the woods are where the devil lives. Back in his time, the woods were a dangerous place and superstition was prevalent in the populace, leading many to fear and hate nature. Unlike Cotton Mather, Jefferson viewed nature as an exploitable resource. In his notes on Virginia, Jefferson attempts to assess nature in a quantifiable way. his only care about nature was how much it was worth. Jefferson was one of the first notable people to view nature as a resource and this kind of thinking became widespread by the end of the 19th century.
 * **__Pre-Colonial Society's view of nature:__**

__Modern Society's view of nature:__
Today, part of society views nature as something to be exploited while the other part views nature as something to be saved. The exploiters only see money and resources when they look at wilderness and nature. Conservationists see recreation and something that should be cherished by people when they look at nature. I view nature as a place of solitude. A place where one can go to escape human expectations and limits. During the nature walk I went on with my class, I observed the calming effects of being in nature. Nature should be preserved as much as possible for as long as possible so that future generations can enjoy its many benefits. Others view nature as "an uncontrollable anarchy, that has always been, and always will be around. No matter how much we tear it down or take from it, it will always be there." Some literary works that illustrate society's view of nature in modern times include: __Encounters with the Archdruid__, __The Idea of a Garden__, __The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn__, __Maggie: A Girl of the Streets__, and __The Great Gatsby__. There are also some media works that demonstrate the relationship between society and nature in post-colonial times such as: __The Chicago World Fair__ and __Koyaanisqatsi__. In __Encounters With the Archdruid__, there were two views on nature that were most memorable. Those views were the extremist preservation view of Brower and the other was the recreation view of Dominy. Brower viewed nature as something that should be left untouched by humans. Dominy viewed nature as something that should be accessible to all, a view that he used dams to realize. In The Idea of a Garden, a compromise is made over what should be done with a semi-natural place that has become part of a community that was destroyed. The compromise reached after its destruction was unacceptable because it left a divide between the community and nature that might but probably won't go away as time passes. Nature plays a very big roll in Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn lumps society into two groups, good people and the vagabonds. The good people like the Widow Douglas are found in the towns, while the vagabonds such as Huck's dad are found in between towns and out in the woods and mountains (nature). At the beginning of the story, when Huck and Tom pretend to be robbers, they meet with other boys in a cave outside of town. The cave is located out of town because nature and areas "outside of the town" are associated with lawlessness and violence as shown throughout the story. Huck's dad is a good example of nature being lawless in this story, he lives out of the town in the woods and only comes into town to get drunk and cause trouble. He beats Huck on a regular basis and even tries to kill him at one point. The murderers on the boat and the Grangerfords feud with the Sheperdsons are perfect examples of nature's association with violence since all of the fighting occurs outside of or on the outskirts of town and the murderers are found stranded in the river. Huck later runs into two crooks that are fleeing a town for swindling its population, this further illustrates the stories view of civilization bringing law and order. However, in chapter 21, the story contradicts itself when a townsman murders a well-liked drunk named Boggs, who only comes into town once a month to get drunk. The river that Huck travels on with the Jim, a runaway slave, is part of nature but also feels like part of civilization when it is mentioned during the story. The river symbolizes freedom for Jim and a new life for Huck. While being dangerous when foggy, the river is also a safe haven for Huck and Jim during the nights. In Maggie, A Girl of the Streets and the movie about the Chicago World Fair, Society was portrayed in a negative tone, further strengthening the view that living in nature creates a better person than living in society. Society is portrayed as dirty, hopeless and violent in Maggie. The opening scene in the book was of boys viciously fighting each other with rocks while people watched, emphasizing the violence and savagery that occurred regularly in society. The parents aren't much better, the father being a violent man that would get drunk frequently to escape the mother, a horrible alcoholic that was by far the worst character in the book. Maggy fell for a man named Pete during the story and he ended up abandoning her after her family disowned her, showing how cruel society could be. Near the end of the book, Maggie is found dead after prostituting for an unknown period of time, demonstrating that people had a hopeless future of either dying or becoming stuck in the poverty cycle like Jimmy, the boy in the fight during the beginning, was. The story shows that society can have its own version of wilderness, where you have to be tough and violent to survive. In sharp contrast, the Chicago Worlds Fair made society seem like a great place that was beautiful, grand, and wealthy. There were grand buildings that appeared to be built out of marble and technological discoveries and wonders of engineering were being showcased throughout the fair. However, beneath the surface, the buildings were just wood and steel frames covered in staff, showing that society was only grand on the surface. There were thieves and con-artists that worked the crowds in the fair, showing that wherever people gathered in groups (society), there would always be trouble. Another, less hidden part of the fair was a large section dedicated to prostitution and alcohol called "The Entertainment Concourse" that, while not officially part of the fair, was much visited throughout the duration of the fair. The Entertainment Concourse displayed things similar to occurrences in Maggie, A Girl of the Streets furthering the image of society as a morally devoid place. The World Fair also had its own set of rules, if you didn't have money to spend, you weren't going to be able to see all of the attractions and fully enjoy the fair. Both Maggie, and the World Fair displayed that in society, if you don't have money, life is hopeless and miserable. The Great Gatsby makes the idea of nature more attractive through its display of the drama and violence that can occur in society. In the Great Gatsby, violence occurs frequently and is rarely ever punished. Some examples of this include when Tom breaks Myrtle's nose and nobody in the room even lectures him for it, another is when the man from the ashes shoots Gatsby, and yet another is when Daisy runs over Myrtle and doesn't get into any trouble.There is drama throughout the book when rumors are being told about Gatsby by Jordan and other various people. Overall, The Great Gatsby paints a dark picture of society as a dangerous and horrible place. __Koyaanisqatsi__ was a silent movie that contrasted nature to the city. The movie uses music to set a peaceful mood for nature and the music slowly turns dissonant and rushed to emphasize the rushed aspect of city life. By the end, the viewer starts to want the movie to change or stop, this gets the movies point across about city life, it needs to change or stop. || **The Garden of Eden** - Genesis



**Witches of the Forest** - Cotton Mathers

**Rip Van Winkle**





**David Brower** - Encounters With the Archdruid **Chicago's World Fair**

**Maggie, A girl of the Streets**

**The Great Gatsby** ||