Rousseau talks about man’s relationship with nature in an interesting way. Some part of the passage that stuck out to me was: “The face of nature becomes indifferent to him as it grows familiar. He sees in it always the same order, the same successions: he has not understanding enough to wonder at the greatest miracles; nor is it in his mind that we can expect to find that philosophy man needs, if he is to know how to notice for once what he sees every day.” Now the type of man that Rousseau is talking about in this passage is actually the “savage” man, and he means “savage” in a way where all their passions in life are just basic human instinctual needs. When you think back to Avatar, you would assume that the “savages” would be the Na’vii people, but the way this passage describes the relationship with nature, does not sound at all like the relationship the Na’vii people had with nature. The way the relationship between man and nature is described sounds more like the general and the people who wanted to destroy Pandora forest. It also made me think of in class how we talked about how someone who lives on a farm has to go to Yellowstone National Park to “get nature”. Many, many people overlook nature in their everyday lives and see it as a source to be taken advantage of and controlled like those who wanted the unobtainium in Avatar. Many people treat nature as a thing that will always be there no matter what, but we are being very destructive of our planet and not preserving it. We are being “savages” in our own way but not giving nature the respect it deserves. It goes with the saying “You don’t know what you got till it’s gone”, like the example Rousseau gave about the native Caribbean who sells his bed in the morning but comes back in the evening, crying, to get it back, not foreseeing that he would want it again the next night. Wordsworth’s poetry, and many other poems by other poets, encourage the appreciation of the essence of nature, like in these few lines: “Waters on a starry night/Are beautiful and fair;/The sunshine is a glorious birth;/But yet I know, where’er I go, /That there hath past away a glory from the earth.” Wordsworth delights in bring forth the true beauty of nature in his poetry and revealing the deep need and want for nature in all human beings. After all, “poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” There are deep desires in all mankind that are often brought forth in poetry.
I would have to agree that the quote you took from Rousseau and how it does really apply more to the Na'vi in Avatar then the actual men.
ReplyDeleteNature really does seem to be treated as something that will always be there, I think you put that very well. I know for a fact that I completely overlook nature!
Overall I think you did a good job on this post and it was helpful that you took ideas from the class, Avatar and Woodsworth and combined them into something short and sweet!
Good Job!!
GREAT JOB, JANE!!! I like how in depth you went and how you related the topic to today's problems with nature. We DO seem to think that nature will always be there. We do see that nature is "always the same order, the same successions" as Rousseau mentions. It just seems that it will never end and that it just goes through the seasons and always looks the same more or less. I also liked how you mentioned the part about the native Caribbean who sells his bed in the morning but comes back in the evening. This tells me that you don't know what you have until it's gone and you need it. Overall, I liked your post. It was direct and you gave GREAT ideas and presented them effectively :) NICE JOB!!!
ReplyDeleteI think this is an interesting take on Rousseau, but I disagree. I think when Rousseau says that the savage man becomes indifferent to nature because it is so familiar, it does not mean that the savage man does not appreciate nature but rather that the savage man completely understands nature and coexists with nature to the point that it is completely familiar. This does not mean that the savage man does not appreciate nature, in fact the savage man probably appreciates nature more as it is the source of his livelihood.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Rousseau and your intake on this, it does seem that nature grows familiar to man. And that it is always the same year after year or day by day. We seem to take nature for granted, as something that will always be there, but that’s not necessarily true we are the ones who are destroying it day after day. For example, in my Indians in Minnesota class we talked about how the euro-Americans (settlers) took this land for granted even today but in the native culture they honor nature and it is important to them. They see everything; even the smallest things with respect compared to the mainstream in America today were little attention is paid to nature. I think we are destroying nature, and don’t see that it’s a big cycle of life and humans depend on almost everything else in this world, including Nature.
ReplyDelete