Wilderness Act

government established the Wilderness Act in 1954 with the intention of becoming passive “guardians” of nature instead of encroaching “gardeners.” Countless acres of wild lands, henceforth referred to as the “wilderness,” were declared off-limits to American industry and placed under federal oversight; the United States hoped that at least some small portion of nature could be free from the influence…

Wilderness has many definitions, and they tend to change through time. Back when we were still exploring this country, it was seen as an evil place where it is hard to survive. This was until later on when we realized the potential abundance of resources that wilderness has to offer us. Once we started using and abusing the wilderness and its resources, there was a shift in definition from a place of resources to a place of beauty and rarity. Today, wilderness is defined as an area of land 5,000…

perspective on this matter through symbols, the wilderness is used as a symbol of free will that conflicts with the strict nature of society. This conflict is conveyed through the characters of the story who go against the Puritan society’s laws and ideals. Nature in The Scarlet Letter represents freedom from the constraints of society; nature’s influences on Arthur, Hester, and especially Pearl reflect humans’ base instinct to seek freedom which conflicts with the need to conform to the…

Prior to the 19th century, the idea of ‘wilderness’ was associated with desolation and an incredible fear of the unknown. This can mostly be attributed to early Christianity; in the Bible all things ‘wild’ were of hellish nature and meant only unpredictable darkness. It wasn’t until the beginning of the American romantic movement that this perception began to shift in the wake of great minds such as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Fenimore Cooper, Thomas Cole, and many other…

William Cronon’s essay entitled “The Trouble with Wilderness” is an intelligent and thoughtful work of environmental philosophy that addresses the relationship between nature and man while defining and contextualizing the idea of wilderness. Cronon argues that we must change the way that we think about wilderness. With this idea of man’s perspective of wilderness, Cronon goes on to describe the ways in which man has looked at wilderness throughout history. From a state of fear and intimidation,…

A Historical Perspective of Wilderness in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Some of the most grim events in history involve man assuming ownership over things that cannot be owned. During the “Scramble for Africa” that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the colonization of the Congo Free State saw European powers gain control of the people as well as the land. In his novel Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad utilizes the motif of wilderness with the purpose of representing the conflict…

Joseph Wood Krutch once said, “The wilderness and the idea of wilderness is one of the permanent homes of the human spirit” (Famous Quotes, 2016). This is quote is inspiring and true. There are 107.5 million acres of wilderness in the United States (NPS, 2012). Agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service have worked for years to maintain and preserve the land. Without rules and regulations the land would be destroyed by the human population. The U.S. Forest Service should maintain and regulate…

The process alone is a four step process for students that are needed to be taken to begin to get a grasp on the understanding of just the legal process. This process includes knowing where laws come from, how they work and are applied, how to interpret them and finally, how lawyers can use them to their client’s advantage. Laska believe there’s to be six different paths to understanding law. Such as statuary representation, common law, law and equity and others (Laska, 1973, pg 37). That does…

In chapters 8 and 9 of Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer quotes many of the negative letters, many of whom were Alaskans, he received after the original article about McCandless ran in Outside magazine. “‘I personally see nothing positive at all about Christ McCandless’s lifestyle or wilderness doctrine,’ […]” (Krakauer 71). Alaskans thought he didn’t respect the Alaskan wilderness, while others could not believe someone could act so impulsive. Some even believed, “‘Krakauer is a kook if he doesn’t…

quo and runs into the wilderness seeking solitude and self-discovery. In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, the protagonist Chris McCandless escapes a privileged young adult life to pursue a better understanding of his self-identity, which he believes he can find in the Alaskan wilderness. Although intending to chase his sense of adventure and escape materialistic ideologies, McCandless was egotistical in his exploration. Before leaving for his adventure to Alaska, Chris McCandless told his sister…