Sarah Chapman- The mix of wild and mythology (divinity)

 In class, we discussed the correlation between nature and the sublime and how they are always intertwined. Nature through art became a mix of wild and mythology. In chapter 4 of American Camino by Dr. Redick, he quotes J.R.R Tolkien's view of the importance of myth in language and its connection to worlds.  Tolkien claims that “in the creation of these imaginative works, human beings become sub-creators”, Martin Heidegger also voices his opinion on nature and art and that “ the artwork opens up in its own way the Being of beings”( Redick, p.170). I found these quotes to symbolize the idea that there is a divinity to nature and that art/ storytelling acts as a gateway to see into the sublimity of nature. During the Westward expansion of America, landscape art became popular. In class, we discussed how these landscape artists were able to capture both the wilderness and the sublime/awe effect of the wild. Artists such as Bierstadt, Cropsey, and Cole helped visualize the concept of wild and myth, becoming “sub-creators”. In J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, the Ents who are tree-like beings that are ancient, sentient, and protectors of the forests of Middle-earth can also be seen as an example of the sublime and nature. Tolkien has made the Ents the ultimate representation of the natural world as nature personified into divine living creatures, opening the gate between nature and the divine.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kip Redick Example of an Outside Reading Post

 Recently I decided to give the renowned masterpiece by Jon Krakauer known as Into the Wild  another read. Needless to say I was just as heartbroken as the first time I read this novel/watched the 2007 film. I felt the need to discuss the work here simply because I feel it relates to a lot of discussions we have been having in class. I mean think about it, a young man sets out across the country to explore creation as it was intended to be experienced. As the story progresses, I remember being left with a sense of wonder, even thinking things along the lines of "I wonder would what happen if I just decided to do this one day?" I feel it's common knowledge how this story ends by now, with the main protagonist passing away alone in the wilderness, no one around for miles due to accidentally ingesting a poisonous plant. Although I have previously discussed how nature is God's most pure creation and should be treated as such, I feel I need to address a differ...
Read more

Kip Redick Introduction

To post, click “new post” to start your entry, you will then be able to write your blog. Make sure to start the blog with your name and the subject of the entry. Blog entries will be considered informal writing assignments and as such will be graded more in relation to content than style. Blog entries will contain questions and answers to questions, as well as reflections which relate to daily classroom discussions, completion of exercises, and reading assignments. Any questions the student has when reading or completing assignments should be written in their blog. Reflections may relate to connections the student makes between discussions in this class and those in other classes, between arguments raised in the readings in this class and those raised in other classes or in informal conversations. Students are encouraged to apply the ideas learned in this class to activities that take place outside of the class. These applications make great reflections. The student should bring questi...
Read more

Book review- The Call of the Wild

 I read The Call of the Wild by Jack London a few years ago and read it a second time a few months ago. It is one of my favorite books, not only because it involves the wilderness, dogs, and wolves but also because of the bond between Buck and John Thornton. At the beginning of the book, we learn that Buck is taken from his home in California and was sold as a sled dog in the Klondike Gold Rush. I remember the book being difficult to read at times due to the abuse that Buck and the other dogs faced, but it also opened my eyes to how important it is to respect every form of life, including a dog’s. While he was cared for and treated well in California, his master, Judge Miller, treated him more as a friend rather than a beloved companion, hence the lack of homesickness expressed by Buck. Even though Buck was a suburban dog, there was always something different about him, he was strong, brave, and fierce. I loved how the book was told from Buck’s perspective, there was so much he did...
Read more