Transformation Essay, Research Paper
Transformation
Most people go through life with their eyes closed, so to speak, never stopping to see the beautiful world around them. However, the people that do stop and observe the beauty often do great things with the knowledge from their experience. Two people that have done just that are Gary Snyder and Mary Oliver. Both Snyder and Oliver have written about their experience with nature. Although they have different backgrounds, write in different ways, and have different ideas of the places around them both share the belief that place in life is a very significant thing.
Gary Snyder s work shows great influences from his strong belief in Zen Buddhism. In 1956 Snyder moved to Japan for twelve years to study Rinzai Zen Buddhism. Throughout the twelve years Snyder got the chance to spend six months in Sojourn, India, where he met the Dalai Lama in 1962. Since Snyder returned to the United States in 1969 he has fought for peace, environmental awareness, and freedom from nuclear weaponry. In Snyder s The world is Places essay his sense of place is greatly recognized. His love for place and the calmness in his writings both sprout from his belief in Zen Buddhism.
On the other hand, Mary Oliver has a different background from Snyder. Oliver was educated at Vassar College a prestigious women s college known for its graduates in the arts, particularly writes and actors. Throughout the eighties Mary taught at Case Western Reserve University, during which she wrote many books also. Also, the New York poet Edna St. Vincent heavily influences Oliver s work.
The similarities between Snyder and Oliver s work are very broad and apparent. The most obvious one being they both hold and speak of place with high regard. An example in Snyder s The World is Places would be him stating, Our place is part of what we are. Snyder goes on to explain that place shapes people into who they are now. His example being a child gradually parting from home, yet home always being with them. Snyder s accurate and vivid description of place displays the care that was taken when writing the essay. The attention and care taken within the details shows the high regard Snyder has for place. While in Mary Oliver s Humpbacks she starts her poem with There is, all around us, this country of original fire. Oliver is subtler in her description of place, yet her regard for place is equally shown. Oliver, like Snyder, also pays close attention to detail and manages to captivate her reader with her experience. Oliver s ability to make the reader feel a part of the experience is a prime example of the passion used in writing her poem. Both Snyder and Oliver cherish place in a way most people don t. However different they might say it, together Snyder and Oliver s sense of place create a pleasing description of place. Snyder s idea that Our place is what we are. can be interpreted in many ways, but always leads back to place as being gratifying. Oliver describes place as being something that …stops at nothing Which holds not only truth, but makes one think. Both Snyder and Oliver also give detailed explanations of their surroundings while speaking of place. Snyder goes in detail about the thought process one goes through when thinking about home. Oliver goes into detail about a place where humpback whales rise to surface level, sing, and return to the deep.
Although Snyder and Oliver share a love for place they convey their experiences in different ways. Gary Snyder speaks of place as an experience Mary Oliver one the other hand talks of experience as a place. Snyder expresses in the first line of The World is Places that We experience slums, prairies, and wetlands all equally as places. Throughout the essay Snyder also goes on to say that place is home; where people grew up. Backing the statement Snyder said that the heart of the home is the firepit, the hearth and it is back to the fireside that elders return. Snyder makes the assumption that home is a place cherished and loved by all. He leads the reader to believe that the place where one lives is what shapes that person into adulthood. Snyder implies place as a real emotion separate from all others. Mary Oliver speaks of place in a very different fashion. Oliver writes not of place as an experience but of experience as place. Particularly how the experience of whale watching made an effect on her. While describing her experience, Oliver, remembers We wait, not knowing just where it will happen shouting for joy you realize it is yourself for some unbelievable part of a moment against the sky – like nothing you ve ever imagined This experience of seeing breaching whales has made an astounding effect on Oliver, one that she did not expect. Later in the poem Oliver articulates just how much she s been effected by the experience by stating, Listen nothing in life will ever dazzle you like the dreams of your body even the great whale, throbs with song.
Place and experience are both powerful things and when combined they form memories that last a lifetime. For Gary Snyder home will always be his place, whereas Mary Oliver will see her experience with whales as her place. Place being as it is will always stay with a person forever.
324
Другие работы по теме:
Transformation In The Institutions Of Work And
Economy Due To Technology Essay, Research Paper The revolution or transformation in the institutions of work and economy due to technology came about through a shift in the means of production and of consumption. Means of production refers to the process by which the production of material goods is carried out in a society.
Analysis
: “Family Resembances” Essay, Research Paper Analysis: ?Family Resemblances? Jennifer Nathanson?s essay is likely to elicit a smile from readers who have gone through a similar metamorphosis. Her changing feelings and attitudes towards her mother are not so different from those experienced by many other people.
Christians Essay Research Paper I agree with
Christians Essay, Research Paper I agree with the Uncle that the Bible should be analyzed and interpret like any other book. Just because you are a Christian does not mean you can interpret it correctly. I come from a Christian family and we all have read the Bible. But I know that I have interpret parts of the Bible in a different matter then other members of my family, they have as well.
The Hero
’s Journey Essay, Research Paper There are eight steps a person must take to become a hero, most noticably an epic hero, in Greek Mythology. These eight steps are the call, the threshold, the challenges, the abyss, the transformation, the revelation, the atonement, and the return.
Stealing Our Rights Essay Research Paper Stealing
Stealing Our Rights Essay, Research Paper Stealing Our Rights From the dawn of the first organized communities, to the powerful United States of America today, there have always been power hungry people who
Philosophy On Life Essay Research Paper My
Philosophy On Life. Essay, Research Paper My philosophy on life begins with the subject of death, which infact terrifies most people. Many people believe after you die you go to ‘heaven’ or ‘hell’, my opinion is similar but in a way different. I believe that there is certainly an afterlife but not as limited to those two fictional places.
Gun Control 2 Essay Research Paper We
Gun Control 2 Essay, Research Paper We the students of class 7-508 do not agree with the statement that people should carry weapons. We do not agree with this statement
Death Penalty Essay Research Paper Is the
Death Penalty Essay, Research Paper Is the Death Penalty Right or Wrong? Should we be able to execute people that have been convicted of murder or should we give them a chance to break out of jail and maybe kill other people. Well the Death Penalty has been around for a while ever since the Old West use to hang people for punishment.
2 Chronicle Essay Research Paper solomon was
2 Chronicle Essay, Research Paper solomon was a king who had a hearts desire to have wisdom and knowledge from God so that he could lead his people whcih he says is Gods people. The significant
The Knight Essay Research Paper The Knight
The Knight Essay, Research Paper The Knight and the nun are two completely different people the knight is some one who wants people to think well of them so he dose things to make people thinks will of him where as the nun wants people to think well of her so she became a nun but in reality she is not living up to her vows.
Aliens Essay Research Paper Aliens
Aliens Essay, Research Paper Aliens What are aliens? There are illegal aliens. Their are UFO aliens. You have to ask yourself one question, do you think there could be intelligent life
Critical Thinking Essay Research Paper Critical thinking
Critical Thinking Essay, Research Paper Critical thinking would be important to the well being of our society for many reasons except for the fact that hardly anyone ever uses it. If people used critical thinking all the time society would be a very different place. People would actually think about what they were going to say and what it means before they said it.
Agriculture Essay Research Paper AGRICULTURE THE WORLD
Agriculture Essay, Research Paper AGRICULTURE THE WORLD LEADER IN AGRICULTURE IS THE U.S. Since the agricultural transformation began in the United States, the United States only seemed to improve agriculturally. The Western Hemisphere was the first to progress towards this transformation, displaying the United States as a leader in agriculture.
Transformations
& Symmetry Essay, Research Paper What is transformation? Transformation is a one-to-one function from one plane on to another plane or to a different area on the same plane. A transformation describes a change in
Metamorphosis A Movie Essay Research Paper Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis A Movie Essay, Research Paper Metamorphosis, written by Franz Kafka, is a story that deals with the transformation of a human being, Gregor Samsa, into a giant bug. Whether this transformation is a literal transformation, or a transformation only in the mind of Gregor, is a mystery to the reader.
Malclom X Essay Research Paper Ming Sen
Malclom X Essay, Research Paper Ming Sen Zhang ENG 2100 0328 9/28/99 Essay Comparison The essays ?Learning to See? by Samuel Scudder and ?Learning to Read? by Malcolm X, both described transformational experiences. There are several similarities and differences between Malcolm X and Scudder?s transformational experiences.
Indian Essay Research Paper IndianTransformation of Native
Indian Essay, Research Paper Indian Transformation of Native American Cultures As the white man killed the buffalo, they also killed off the Indians. Indians needed buffalo to eat, defend, and stay warm. Horses helped both Indians and white man hunt, which killed off buffalo even faster. Guns that the white man brought over enabled the Indians to fight back.
Mythology Essay Research Paper What is mythology
Mythology Essay, Research Paper What is mythology? Mythology is like a fib that started many years ago in the olden days. It is still around due to people still continuing to use a myth as the truth. They seem to not know the difference between a myth and a legend. People these days are so naive it is ashame to know the rate of people that actually believe those myths.
Stereotyped Essay Research Paper Two years ago
Stereotyped Essay, Research Paper Two years ago, I was 5 feet 3 inches in height. I had long, black hair. And I was very skinny. Upon seeing me, people assumed that I was na ve, innocent, shy and quiet Filipino girl. They were right!However, these all changed last year. Being the timid, non- outgoing person that I was, I wanted to try new and different things.
People And Machines Essay Research Paper People
People And Machines Essay, Research Paper People and Machines The problem is not with the machine: it is with the man who allows himself to become mechanical. People work on machines all day long. Many of
William Wordsworth Essay Research Paper Wordsworths Way
William Wordsworth Essay, Research Paper Wordsworth?s Way of Explaining His Past ?William Wordsworth, English poet, one of the post accomplished and influential of England?s romantic poets, whose theories and style created a new tradition in poetry ? ( Microsoft Encarta 1). Wordsworth began writing poetry when he was still in school, but it wasn?t until 1793 that any of his poems were published. ?Wordsworth?s political and intellectual sympathies underwent a transformation after 1800.
Werewolf Essay Research Paper TOP TEN REASONS
Werewolf Essay, Research Paper TOP TEN REASONS YOU MIGHT BE TURNING INTO A WOLF. #1. Having hairy palms is considered a sure sign of being a werewolf. #2. Rough palms are also considered to be a sign.
THings Fall Apart Essay Research Paper No
THings Fall Apart Essay, Research Paper ?No Government Could Long Subsist without the Compliance of the People? Government now days if you look at it is run by the people. Senators and House of Reps. play off what people want to get elected, then after they get into office some get right to work, while others go into offices and procrastinate.
What Is Poetry Essay Research Paper I
What Is Poetry? Essay, Research Paper I think poetry is a part of everyone. It can express fellings and emotion. Some people write poems to express their feelings or just because they like and
Aboriginal People Essay Research Paper Many of
Aboriginal People Essay, Research Paper Many of the Aboriginals have developed a way of life that they are satisfied with, but by these big organizations taking control over their communities they have no way of stopping them, without the support of other people in the community. Many aboriginals have lived on these reservations most of their lives, so much of their history has been from living there.
Effects Of Prozac Essay Research Paper Transformation
Effects Of Prozac Essay, Research Paper Transformation of Personality Peter D. Kramer, M.D. Psychology Today July / August 1993 8 Pages Peter D. Kramer, M.D. tells of his first experience with Prozac involving a woman named Tess. Tess was the eldest of 10 children, born to a passive mother and an alcoholic father.
Yellow Journalism Essay Research Paper Did Boris
Yellow Journalism Essay, Research Paper Did Boris Yeltsin really resign? The people of Russia were led to believe that on New Years Day, January 1st, President Boris Yeltsin suspiciously and suddenly resigned. Some people claim he was to old and to senile to finish his presidential term, others claim he was too sick, deathly sick, others claim he was just fed up with the horrible condition of the Russian Government.
Gun Control Essay Research Paper Gun EssayShould
Gun Control Essay, Research Paper Gun Essay Should we really just keep adding gun control laws? Well, I don’t think so. I think that Senator Larry E. Craig said it best “the criminal that wasn’t stopped by 20,000 laws won’t stop at 20,001.“ My viewpoint is that we should have better law enforcemnt.
An Excerpt From Joseph Freeman
’s AN AMERICAN TESTAMENT Essay, Research Paper from An American Testament by novelist and apparatchik Joseph Freeman (1936) Reconciliation to the city is only a prelude to our transformation. The conflict of
A Separate Peace Essay Research Paper Breaking
A Separate Peace Essay, Research Paper Breaking The Mold In John Knowle’s, A Separate Peace, there is a transformation in all the key elements in the book, from the rivers to the tree to the seasons to the characters. The transformation is