“The experience of moving into the world can challenge individuals' beliefs and attitudes” Related text and one other”…
The greatest gains and values are farthest from being appreciated. We easily come to doubt if they exist. We soon forgot them.” (p. 47) Thoreau believed that nature was one of life’s beautiful occurrences that many neglect to appreciate. So did Christopher McCandless. Chris went on his ‘pilgrimage’ that included California, South Dakota, and Alaska among other places, to experience the natural world for himself. He realized that others did not take advantage of the world around them, so he even convinced Ronald Franz to alter his lifestyle to “start seeing some of the great work that God has done here in the American West.” (p. 58)…
In North Dakota there is “a road so lonely, treeless, and devoid of rises and curves in places that it will feel like one long-held pedal steel guitar note.” A “lonely, treeless” road would first seem to be quite negative. The world, “lonely,” gives off a tone of sadness while the word, “treeless,” shows that there is only open space. Although the reader would initially receive these words with a negative connotation, Marquart compares the road to “one long-held pedal steel guitar note.” One might find that one note would be uninteresting, but by comparing the road with a pedal steel guitar, something that the author might have enjoyed listening to, the reader can sense that the author has an appreciation for the long empty road. It is like listening to a song that is liked except one of those notes is held out. The note that is held out makes the song take more time, which means more time to embrace the song or in this case, the relaxing view of open land.…
This story is an amazing guide for anyone looking to go outside their borders. Schmitt wants to show others that to acclimate to foreign cultures, it is crucial to go outside the box; or step out of the comfort zone. The audience is mostly those who would are already living in a foreign country, or are planning…
There I am sitting in my canoe, I close my eyes and just listen. I listen to the trees swaying in the breeze, the raindrops pitter-patting on my coat, the movement of the paddle as it dips into the water. I picture the beautiful autumn foliage that surrounds me as leaves gently fall from the tree onto the surface of the water and make a print on the water, even if it is only there for a second. As English writer William Hazlitt once said “We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts.” This is how I felt out on the river during our trip, I felt like I could really understand and appreciate the beauty and serene peace of being one with nature. I also felt like I could appreciate the care that it takes to keep…
He talks about how he was fascinated as a kid by the brilliance of nature. He remembers almost every detail: the sound of the “mountain springs,” “this dark sycamore,” and the “hedge rows.” He mentions how he would always reminisce about his experience, which would help keep him keep sane. When he’s there, he’s thinking about his perception of it in the past, and the way he will reminisce about this experience in the future. His perspective on nature changed. Now, he is not only fascinated by its beauty, rather looks at it in a more detailed form, understanding its place in the world as well as how everything in the world is connected with one another. As he grew older he became more mature and wise, which allowed him to see things differently and have a much more deeper understanding of life in connection with…
Human minds dictate the appreciation that people have of things around them and the value that those things have. The author Alain de Botton in his essay "On Habit,” states how after returning to London from his vacations in Barbados and seeing how different it was from the place he has to live in, he thought that London was a horrible place and that there was nothing good or beautiful about the place he lives in. However, after analyzing Xavier Maistre's concept of room traveling and how with the right mindset even his own bedroom could offer a great adventure without the need of actually traveling and spending money, de Botton starts a journey of changing his own way of seeing things. Humans usually think that their surrounding are bad and…
Do you like traveling or meeting new people? Most yes, everyone likes to travel, but some people are unique. Some of them devote their time in traveling to gain new experience and knowledge about different places around the world. Similarly, Paul Salopek, the writer of “Out of Eden Walk”, an excerpt from National Geographic has planned to devote seven years of his life to travel from the Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia to tip of South America. Paul Salopek about his journey and the most common that is noticeable is people, which bring sadness and fear between livings.…
The environment a person lives in can influence his/her characteristics. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, a plane filled with English schoolboys crashes on an unknown island. The boys, who were used to living in a wealthy society where their needs were always provided for, had to adopt a new, completely different lifestyle in order to survive. Because there was no one to take care over the young boys, they became like savages, unbound by rules. This eventually led to them killing wild animals and even each other. Golding’s novel connects to the difficulties of traveling to other countries. Because of the cultural diversities, it is difficult for a person to adjust to the lifestyle of another country, because he/she has…
For example, nature has a big impact on the ones who decide to acknowledge its power and divinity. Ultimately, mother earth can console people by bringing them a new perspective towards life. In the poem, “Thanatopsis” by William Cullen Bryant, he conveys that death is not a frightful thing and explains that nature “has a voice of gladness [and also has a] smile and eloquence of beauty” (220. 4-5). For this reason, many people are able to witness the state of tranquility and contentment that is present in the natural world. This allusion personifies nature as not only the surroundings of a person, but something that they are truly connected to. It is evident that the truth comes from intuition and solitude, not God. Indeed, a life well-spent is when someone focuses on the life in front of them and realizes what nature has to offer. In the excerpt, “Nature” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, he states that “all natural objects make a kindred impression when the mind is open to their influence,” which explains the connection that humans have with nature and the sacrifice they must make to indulge themselves within it ( 241). Connecting with the environment allows a person to understand the beauty and extent of the world, rather than just focusing on a superior being. The affirmative feeling of Transcendentalists is that they are one with nature and one with the world. Instead of giving their faith to an over-seeking power, they take in the ideas and beliefs from all living things and incorporate them in making decisions based on their own personal experiences with…
Some places have significant importance and many people work to protect those places of deep natural or open space value. In part II, “Speaking of Place”, from the anthology Wildbranch, the authors focus on personal connections and responses to particular places. These writers emphasize on sense of place, making their chosen spot quite different from any other place around, and also making their surroundings worth caring about. Nature is rapidly weakening in front of our eyes, and these places, frequently defined as cultural landscapes, play a massive roll on our environment; therefore, and taking this into consideration, the conservation of nature, in general, requires resources or a reserve for the welfare of people today and making sure…
Having lived in a variety of countries, I have developed a level of interest and compassion for various communities and environments. I often felt like an outsider when my family and I would initially move to a new city. The unique experience of being able to look into a community or society from the outside allowed myself to not only appreciate but also analyze my surroundings. Growing up in South Korea, California and Louisiana, due to my father’s work, allowed me to appreciate different cultures while developing an awareness for the greater, overarching society of the world. I was able to be a part of the individual culture of each distinct community while developing an appreciation for the way in which all communities are connected.…
Through travel we learn about ourselves and others. Camping taught me that I do not like mosquitos, Quebec taught me people from different cultures can be uncompromising, and in South Carolina I learned I’m afraid of the ocean.…
In Alain de Botton’s essay, “On Habit” and Adam Gopnik essay, “Bumping into Mr. Ravioli” explain the way that individuals can think creatively and express their feelings and thoughts into newer meaning and in-depth ideas. They also explain the way that the human race are so engaged in technology and busyness that they are overlooking what really is important to them in their life. De Botton is worried that many people do not go beyond limitations and need to explore their surrounding more and appreciate what is going on around them. He urges people to use their ‘traveling mindset’ and try to approach their environments in a positive way that they may have never looked at it before. A ‘traveling mindset’ is when one determines how one will interpret and respond to situations when going to new or old surroundings. Gopnik writes about his three-year old daughter, Olivia, who has an imaginary friend named Charlie Ravioli. When Olivia talks about Mr. Ravioli, she always tells her parents that he is always busy working and does not have time to play or talk with her. Gopnik fears that Olivia is feeling lonely and is reflecting her real life into an imaginary presence. They further more explain the way that individuals should start to realize the benefits of human interactions and the exploration of their environment. The expectations of many individuals are sinking because of a lack of knowledge and desire to be one’s self.…
The influence of landscape, whether conscious of unconscious, is reflected in individuals and whole communities. People tend to feel happy and secure in some places, whereas other places may provoke fear and sadness. For instance, the emotions and relationships of people who are born into war or poverty will develop in a very different way to those who never experience trauma or dislocation. Many people feel strong sense of belonging to a landscape, others may feel alienated or isolated by the place in which they live. Immigrants, exiles and refugees may have a very different relationship to a landscape from those born and raised there. People who are forced to leave one landscape and then accept another may take a long time to feel comfortable in their new home. They may find an unknown landscape alienating, dangerous and foreboding. Our environment can be a great comfort and bring many pleasures in life; in contrast it can also be very threatening bring up pessimistic emotions. Across the world, writers and film makers use landscape as a metaphor for human experiences and as a background to mundane and dramatic events.…