Final Blog

What does it mean, in your opinion, to write the environment? What authors, artists, poets do you think successfully wrote the environment this semester?

Into the Wild. Due Tuesday, May 5 by 9:00 AM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

1. What significance, if any, do you attach to the note Chris left in the margins of Dr. Zhivago: “Happiness only real when shared” (189) as he neared the end of his life?


2. On Thursday we watched a large portion of the documentary The Call of the Wild about Ron Lamothe's journey to retrace Chris's own two-year plus odyssey. In what ways did the documentary aid in your understanding, connection, or feelings toward Chris? Or, did you find the documentary distracting? Share your thoughts on the documentary and Ron's journey.

3. Is Into the Wild a man's book? Are there gender issues in the narrative? Look, perhaps, at how women and men are portrayed in the book. What does the book say about men and particularly young men?

Extra Post: Art Presentations. Due by Thursday, April 30, 9 AM

For those of you that may be a bit short in your requisite blog posts, here is an extra post:

We have now gone through our six art presentations, learning about photographers, conceptual artists, and glass blowers. Of the six, which artist did you find most compelling? Whose work grabbed you the most? What did you find inspiring or challenging or engaging about the artist and his or her work? On the opposite side, which artist could you not relate to? Why, in your opinion, was this artist not as engaging?

Into the Wild, through page 171. Due Thursday, April 30 by 9AM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

1. Chapter 14 and 15 are devoted to Krakauer's own experience on the Stikine Ice Cap. What is the purpose of this extended story in Into the Wild? Do you think Krakauer's decision to insert himself into the narrative added to our detracted from Chris's story? Did it help you to understand how Krakauer came to interpret Chris's motives?

2. Let's think about gender roles: how are females portrayed in the book? Is it different than how men are portrayed? What does the book say about men, particularly young men?

3. We have noted that this story is about a real person, who lived, breathed, and died and this sense of knowing that Chris existed changes how we read, understand, and analyze the story. In what ways do you relate to Chris or to the idea of undertaking an adventure or odyssey?

Into the Wild, through page 126. Due by Tuesday at 9:00AM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

1. In Chapter 11 "Chesapeake Bay" we finally meet Chris' parents and his sister and we learn about Chris as a child. What do we learn about Chris and his parents in the chapter?

2. Krakauer introduces Chapter 12, which includes Chris McCandless’s discovery of his father’s infidelity, with a quotation from GK Chesterton: “For children are innocent and love justice, while most of us are wicked and naturally prefer mercy.” Who is guilty in this story (e.g. the book), if anyone? Do they deserve justice or mercy?

3. Why do you think Krakauer spends a chapter in the book on Everettt Russ (chapter 9)? What role does this chapter play in the overall narrative of Into the Wild? What can we learn about Chris McCandless from the story/experience of Russ?

4. Why do you think that the bus has become such a tourist or pilgrimage site? What is the appeal? What are people looking for when they go there?

Into the Wild, through page 85. Due Thursday, April 23 by 9:00AM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

1. Chapter 7 opens with an epigraph excerpted from Solitude: A Return to the Self by Anthony Storr. What does this quote suggest about Chris? Why is this quote placed at the beginning of this chapter? How does it frame our reading of Chapter 7?

2. Chapter 8 focuses on other "Alaska Types" (71) such as Rosselli the Mayor of Hippie Cove and Waterman. What does it mean to be an "Alaska Type?" In what ways did Chris fit this mold? In what ways was Chris different than the other adventurers discussed in the chapter?

3. Chapter 6 is devoted to the friendship between Ronald Franz and Chris McCandless. Why do you think the connected like they did? Why do you think was able to develop such strong relationships with other tramps or other "outsiders" such as Jan Burres and Wayne Westerberg? What do you these friendships or bonds tell you about Chris? What does Chris’ relationship with Ronald Franz let us know about Chris? What was Chris (Alexander) seeking/needing from Ron and from Wayne?

Into the Wild, through page 46. Due Tuesday, April 21 by 9:00AM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

1. Why does Chris change his name to Alexander Supertramp? What does the name change signify?

2. How is your reading of the story affected knowing that Krakauer is writing about a real person who died? And who was close to your age? Krakauer also makes it a point to share his own biases throughout the book and not hide is authorial presence. He writes in the Author’s Note: “I won’t claim to be an impartial biographer. McCandless’s strange tale struck a personal note that made a dispassionate rendering of the tragedy impossible” (ii). In the opening pages how is Krakauer’s bias emerging? How does his obvious presence change your reading or does it?

3. The opening chapter, “The Stampede Trail” is only 5 pages long, but is our first introduction to Alex/Chris. What do we learn about him in these opening pages? Does he come across as a likable character, someone you can identify with? We, as readers, are also presented with his final postcard. Why? What does that postcard tell us about McCandless? What does chapter 4 (in which we learn about Alex’s tramping, including his canoe trip) tell us about Alex?

4. Why do you think Alex “found a surrogate family in Westerberg” (18)? In chapter 3 what do we learn about Alex’s own biological family and his relationship with them?

Nature at the Mall, due Thursday, April 16 by 9:00 AM

Please respond to one of the following questions using the comment link:

In "Nature at the Mall" Jennifer Price asks: "Is it possible that people in our culture have become so estranged from nature that their only avenue to it is consumerism?" (195). This is a pretty dire statement--do you agree? Are we too estranged or segregated from nature? How can we overcome that division? Are nature stores a cause of our estrangement from nature or are they a cure? In other words, are these stores a good thing?

What version of nature do these stores sell? Or, to put it another way, how do they write the environment? Or, do you think they sell “nature” or do they sell something else? What does Price suggest? What does it mean to be a “nature lover” at the Nature Company or other similar store?


What does Price mean when she says “The Nature Company has attracted nature lovers precisely by inhabiting a notoriously placeless site” (191)?

Native American Readings, due Tuesday Morning by 9:00

Please respond to one of the following questions, using the comment function.

A. How do the two authors represent or discuss the natural world? What is the relationship between humans and the natural world?

B. Both stories have a historical element to them. How has past experience shaped or effected the stories?

C. There is also a spiritual element to the stories. What is the relationship between the spirit world (the Creating Power, perhaps) and the natural world? Where do humans fit?

D. The first story is a creation myth. What connections do you see with creation myths from other religions or cultures?

Botany of Desire, Marijuana Chapter, pages 146-179, due Tuesday, April 7 by 9:00 AM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

A.
More so than the other chapters in Botany of Desire, Pollan references scientific, literary and historic sources. Why do you think he relies on such a variety of sources in the chapter? What role do they play? How do these sources help his argument regarding marijuana?


B.
Explore/analyze the second full paragraph on page 162 (that begins with "this is no small thing indeed") and then look at the paragraphs on pages 167-8 (beginning with "nothing is easier..." and ending at the section break). One area focuses on forgetting and one on being hyper-aware of reality, how do these two sections relate? How do they tie into the argument of the book and into the argument of this chapter?

C.
Your choice: create a question for yourself related to this chapter and answer it. Or, if someone else has asked a question you like, feel free to answer that one--just indicate which question you are responding to.

Botany of Desire, Marijuana Chapter, pages 113-145, due Tuesday, March 31 by 9:00 AM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

A. On page 127 Pollan refers to marijuana as a "powerful symbol" and asks "did marijuana pose a grave threat to public health or was marijuana the only illicit drug in wide enough use to justify waging so ambitious a war in the first place?" (127). Marijuana continues to be in the news, particularly in terms of legalization of medicinal marijuana. What, in your opinion, does marijuana symbolize for general American culture? Do you think marijuana means different things to different groups? If so, what else does marijuana symbolize and for whom?

B. In a speech Pollan gave related to this chapter he noted: Andrew Weil calls this desire for changing consciousness the fourth human drive, after food, water, and sex. I think he is right. It certainly is a very widespread activity—a lot more widespread than we realize—and it doesn’t always involve drugs. In his first book, The Natural Mind, which is still well worth read-
ing, Weil points out that kids love to change consciousness, and they do it by
swinging, and by getting dizzy. We do it with exercise and meditation and fasting
and thrill-seeking. We’re creatures, apparently, who just happen to like to fiddle
with our brain chemistry." He makes a similar point on page 139 of the chapter. Do you agree-is changing our consciousness a human drive? What evidence can you give in support of your answer? What evidence does Pollan give in his chapter?

Andrew Weil calls this desire for changing consciousness the fourth

human drive, after food, water, and sex. I think he is right. It certainly is a very

widespread activity—a lot more widespread than we realize—and it doesn’t always

involve drugs. In his first book, The Natural Mind, which is still well worth read-

ing, Weil points out that kids love to change consciousness, and they do it by

swinging, and by getting dizzy. We do it with exercise and meditation and fasting

and thrill-seeking. We’re creatures, apparently, who just happen to like to fiddle

with our brain chemistry.

Most cultures, curiously, prom

Use the comment function below to respond.

human drive, after food, water, and sex. I think he is right. It certainly is a very

widespread activity—a lot more widespread than we realize—and it doesn’t always

involve drugs. In his first book, The Natural Mind, which is still well worth read-

ing, Weil points out that kids love to change consciousness, and they do it by

swinging, and by getting dizzy. We do it with exercise and meditation and fasting

and thrill-seeking. We’re creatures, apparently, who just happen to like to fiddle

with our brain chemistry.

human drive, after food, water, and sex. I think he is right. It certainly is a very

widespread activity—a lot more widespread than we realize—and it doesn’t always

involve drugs. In his first book, The Natural Mind, which is still well worth read-

ing, Weil points out that kids love to change consciousness, and they do it by

swinging, and by getting dizzy. We do it with exercise and meditation and fasting

and thrill-seeking. We’re creatures, apparently, who just happen to like to fiddle

with our brain chemistr

Most cultures, curiously, prm

Prodigal Summer, Pages 400-444. Due By Thursday, March 26 at 10:00 AM.

Please respond to one of the following questions:

1. What is the function of the environment or nature for the characters in the book? In what ways can you detect Kingsolver's own relationship with or to nature/the environment creeping out in the characters and their relationships to nature?

2. What is Kingsolver's purpose in writing this book? Who is her audience and what is she trying to tell or convince them of in Prodigal Summer? Or, what does this piece accomplish in terms of the natural world?

3. If you had to convince environmental studies majors to read this book, how would you sell it to them? What would you say about the book? About the author? Also, would you suggest they read it? Why or why not?

Use the comment function to respond.

Reckless

Prodigal has a number of means and each could apply to many of the characters in this book.
According to the dictionary the adjective prodigal means a.) wastefully or recklessly extravagant, b.) giving or yielding profusely, and c.) lavishly abundant. The noun prodigal applies to a person “who spends or has spent his/her money or substance with wasteful extravagance. I think only one of Kingsolver’s characters fits this definition of wasteful in reference to the environment. Garnett is all about reckless destruction in his use of sprays. His counterpart, Nanny represents conservation and a healthy earth. Deanna is the protector of the vast forest and lives very modestly, she also appears to be the opposite of prodigal when it comes to the environment. And Lusa, the lonely new comer who admires moths in a strange likeness is not wastefully, she seems to come from a place where conservation and using everything you have is a virtue. But one might apply the use of the word prodigal to the actions of the individuals’ love lives. Deanna, despite being dedicated to the hunt and continued protection of her beloved coyotes, finds herself lusting after a man who seeks to destroy them. Lusa seeks to find the place where she belongs in her lovely existence. The humans in this environment are the ones who have lost control and their emotions are running wild throughout the forest.

Post for Monday, March 23--Prodigal Summer 331-399

Please answer one of the following questions:

A. Why do you think this book is entitled Prodigal Summer? In what ways do all of the characters display "prodigal" characteristics?

B. The three major story lines are named "Predators," "Moth Love," and "Old Chestnuts." Why, besides acknowledging her respect for coyotes, spiders, and other predatory creatures, are Deanna's chapters named "Predators?" How does Lusa's life mirror the life cycle of her beloved moths? How does her love of insects lead to her emergence from her cocoon (i.e. her relationship with Crystal)? How do Garnett and Nannie remind you of "old chestnuts?" Are they extinct or going extinct?

MarkAnthony

Garnett refers to the creatures of the earth as gods gifts to humans. He supports this with a quote from the book of Genesis where god has apparently created man as superior beings who should use the plants and animals inhabiting the earth for our own good fortune, health, and consumption. Garnett feels as though through this process if some of the earths creatures go extinct it is acknowledged by the bible and thus it is ok and somewhat expected.

Nannie has contrasting views compared to Garnett and she begins stating that every creature sees itself as the center of its universe. As for salamanders, she thinks that they must see humans as simply a nusance and a creature that destroys its vital habitat. Nannie doesn't see any distinction between a species of salamander going extinct or the american chestnuts going extinct. In the entire scheme of the world they are a unique species and neither is more important than the other, however, all species interact and should coexist. She feels that for humans to singlehandedly lead to the extinction of species is wrong because god said that gluttony is a sin and abusing the environment, and thus leading to the extinction of a species like the salamander would not only be wrong but a sin according to the god. While some species might cause humans harm or simply be a nuisance, they are here for a reason and must be respected for who and what they are and that they are different and unique for a reason, whatever it may be. She strongly believes that everything must coexist here on earth and that no distinct species should have the right to destroy all of those of another species.

Blog Questions for Thursday, March 12. Prodigal Summer, pages 204-267

Respond to one of the following questions:

1. As with Pollan, evolution plays a large role in the text (see Prodigal pages 219 and 277-281). As articulated in the text, are God and evolution mutually exclusive? Why is Nannie's version of things distressing to Garnett?

2. Based on what you know about Deanna's character, why is she so bothered that Jerry knows Eddie is there (page 252-6)?

3. Deanna is the self-appointed protector of coyotes and all predators. Is she disturbing nature's own ways of dealing with upsets? What about Garnett and his quest for a blight-free chestnut tree--is this "good" for nature?

Use the comment link below to respond to one of the questions. Your response is due by 5 PM on Thursday.

Blog Questions for Tuesday, March 10. Prodigal Summer, pages 146-203

You must respond to one of the following questions:

1. Look over pages 187 and 215-217. What are Garnett's and Nannie's ethics regarding the natural world and their place(s) in it?

2. What are the ethics of farming in the "Moth Love" Chapters?

3. On pages 177-180 Deanna and Eddie talk about their own connections to animals, specifically predators. What does it mean to Deanna to be an animal lover? And for Eddie? In other words, how do Deanna and Eddie understand the relationship between humans and animals?

Please use the comment link below to respond. Your response is due by 5 PM on Tuesday.

Prodigal Summer, Pages 68-145. Due Wendesday, March 4

Please respond to one of the questions:

A. Unpack Lusa's dream on page 79. What does the dream mean?

B. In chapters 6 and 9, both named "Old Chestnuts," we start to learn more about Garnett's views on the relationship between man, the environment, and God. How would you characterize his viewpoints or his brand of environmentalism? What is the relationship of man to nature?

C. On Tuesday we noted that one of the themes in the book is language and (mis)communication. Look at the conversations that happen in Chapter 8 between Lusa and members of the Widener family and examine the different forms of communication that are occuring. How is Lusa both part of and apart from the Widener family?

Prodigal Summer: Due Tuesday, March 4 by 10 AM.

Please respond to one of the following questions using the "comment" link below:

A. One of the themes in Prodigal Summer is that of insects, and moths to be specific. In these first 67 pages, what role do the moths play? What do we learn about moths? How do they reflect the situations of Deanna, Lusa, and Garnett?

B. A theme within the book is that of predator and prey. Find a passage from Thursday's reading that relates to predator and prey and analyze it. Who is the predator (animal or human)? Who is the prey (animal or human)? How are they navigating this relationship? Is the entrance of the predator considered a positive or negative entrance?

C. Read the poem that prefaces the book. What is a Prothalamium? What is the poem about? Who is being addressed? What does the poem suggest the book will be about?

Pollan: Potato Chapter 211-238. Due Wednesday Night

Please respond to one of the following questions:

A. Watch this advertisement for Monsanto (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JVMzVnZ3C8)
and then analyze the add in terms of the message it sends about Monsanto and about the culture the "robots" visit.

B. Pollan writes: “The problem of monoculture may itself be as much a problem of culture as it is of agriculture. Which is to say, it’s a problem in which all of us are implicated…which is to say our desire for control and uniformity. So much of what I’d seen in Idaho…goes back to that perfect McDonald’s French fry at the eating end of the food chain” (227). How we can go about changing the global taste pallet? Or even the American pallat? Is this even possible?

C. How would you classify Pollan's style of writing? Is he a philosopher? A scientist? A Historian? Back up your classification with specific evidence from the text.

Please use the comment link below to respond to the question.

Pollan: Potato Chapter 183-210. Due Monday, February 23, 9:00 PM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

A. How can we characterize Ireland and English based on their reaction to the potato? Or, what do we learn about a culture from its food choices (for instance, what can we say about America based on our penchant for fast food)?


B. In what ways is genetic engineering a good thing?

C. On pages 195-96, Pollans writes that nature has always exercised a kind of veto over what culture can do with a potato; now, however, man can actually produce variability. He writes: “For the first time, breeders can bring qualities at will from anywhere in nature into the genome of a plant” (196). How does this new-found power redefine what it means to be a "plant?"

Botany 79-110

Pollan: Pages

Please respond to one of the following questions:

A. What did Tulips represent/mean in Holland early on (17th century, before tulipmania)? Why were Tulips a good fit for the Dutch? In other words, what can we learn about the Dutch based based on the Tulip?

B. After it was discovered that virus caused the magnificent color breaks, the Dutch went about eliminating the virus, thereby eliminating the tulip they so prized. What does it say about the Dutch that beauty was based upon a weakness? Do we do anything similar--prize something that may not be the healthiest?

C. How does income reflect people's perception of beauty or does it?

D. Pollan distinguishes Apollonian vs. Dionysian ideas of beauty. How does the Tulip fit into or perhaps blur these two views? Which view, in your opinion, do we value today?

Pollan: Intro and Pages 61-79. Due Wednesday, Feb. 11

Please respond to one of the following questions:

A. Why are flowers consistently considered beautiful and laden with such heavy meanings? (e.g. Roses are often associated with love). Are we born with a disposition to love flowers?

B. What similarities do you see between Pollan's view of the human-nature relationship and that of Oates?

C. What is the relationship among the garden, the forest, nature, wild for Pollan as he tries "to pin down exactly what distinguishes the garden in bloom from an ordinary patch of nature?" (73). And where do humans and civilization fit into Pollan's schema?

To answer any of these questions please hit the "comment" link below.

Oates: "Against Nature." Due Monday, February 9

Answer any ONE of the following questions:

A. Do you agree with Oates' characterization of nature in the opening section? Why or why not?

B. In the second and third sections of her essay and again in the concluding two sections, Oates recounts personal experiences with nature. How do Oates' experiences of nature change over time? How are they related? In an essay about writing about nature, what does this personal dimension add?

C. What does she mean when she says on page 4 "Nature is mouths, or maybe a single mouth" and then, at the opening of the next paragraph "nature is more than a mouth--it's a dazzling variety of mouths." Is she contradicting herself? Discuss her characterization of nature in this section.

To respond to this post simply click on the "comment" link below. If however, you would like to add additional material to your post (links, images, video) you need to create a new post.

Nature Poetry, due by Wednesday, February 4 at 9PM

Focus on your assigned poem, thinking about how that poem writes the environment or nature? What is nature or the environment in the poem? What is the relationship between humans and nature in the poem? What kind of language is used? What is being said about nature? What is the speaker’s connection to nature? Does the speaker see nature in spiritual terms? Political terms? Philosophical terms? What kind of connection can you make between your poems, or the poems generally, and Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek?

You can submit your post by clicking on the "comment" link underneath this post.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

In chapters 1 and 2 the prevailing themes of Dillard’s book are introduced: nature as both full of grace and as full of pain and the necessity of actually seeing and discovering for oneself the world around.

Consider and answer one of the following questions:

A. What does it mean to be a pilgrim in nature? In what ways does Dillard position herself as a pilgrim? What does being a pilgrim suggest about the way she views and communicates nature?

B. What does Dillard mean when she says: “If we are blinded by darkness, we are also blinded by light” and later “seeing is very much a matter of verbilization?” What does it mean to “see?” How can one “see?”

C. For a short time, Dillard considered submitting her manuscript to publishers under the name "A. Dillard" so the publishers would assume the author was a man. Do you think this would have fooled them? Is Pilgrim a feminine way of writing the environment? Is there a feminine or a masculine way to write the environment? If so, how do they differ?

Keep in mind:

• Please refer to the question you are answering.
• Answer the question by clicking on the "comment" link below this post; however, if you feel your answer would be strengthened with the addition of a video, image, or link to another site you should create a new post (the comment function does not allow for these kinds of attachments).
• Due by 9:00 PM Monday, February 2

Welcome

Welcome to the blog site for CO 200 E: Writing the Environment.

This blog is designed as an online conversation space for members of this class. While your responses to questions need to be in standard written English, you are welcome to add to your posts with videos, images, and links to other pages. Use this blog as a chance to explore, analyze and question your perceptions and understanding of the readings and of your own connection to the environment.

Prior to each class I will post at least two questions related to the reading for the next reading assignment. You should compose a 250-500 word response to one of the questions. Your response can be written as a "comment" to my post or, if you so choose (simply click on the comment link underneath my post). You need to write a total of 14 blogs over the course of the semester. Blog posts are due by 9:00 pm the night before class.

Enjoy the blog!