Nature is not kind; it is not good. Nature is the force that propels bees to fly themselves to the death just for the chance to mate with their queen. Nature is the floods that swallow up towns and cities and destroy the lives of hundreds. These dark truths are concealed by society’s obsession with the beauty and meaning of nature. In today’s society, we no longer reflect Emerson’s fanciful view of nature but Oates’s cynical perspective. Nature is imperfect and does not hold the ability to reflect secret truths or enlighten us about the universe; it is but merely a manifestation of our delusions and ideas which we use to cope with life. The mystery and beauty of nature are created by our troubled minds. Nature has “no instructions for mankind”
