Man vs. Nature
With the very existence of a mankind on the face of this planet came the inherent struggle with the forces of the existing world around. They are the everyday struggles brought about by the natural surroundings that we have grown accustomed to. We live with these every day and have learned to overcome them on a somewhat regular basis without a trace of any thought that would remain with us over time. They are a part of our life that goes unnoticed, except when nature really challenges us, or tests us. In a time of crisis or danger when nature has us backed against the wall fighting for survival and the survival of others is when we must face the challenge. We must fight on with whatever circumstance is presented, no matter how small the problem may seem. Many times the battle will be won, and man will over come the challenge presented, and other times nature will get the better of even the best of us, showing its commanding power. Some of the best testaments to this never ending power struggle are the stories of men and women who know of the power of nature, or have experienced the power of nature first hand. Many American authors have written of this theme and its relevance in American society. . . .
Robert Frost wrote of a nature that was cruel and unforgiving. Phoenix Jackson travels this entire distance talking to herself and coaching herself through the wilderness. He is able to portray the feelings the people are going through in a given situation, and able to describe with stunning accuracy the conditions that his characters are battling against in his stories. Welty writes much like these other writers showing how nature is unforgiving, and how it is indifferent to whom it conquers and whom it doesn’t. All we can do is to work her in as far as possible, and then when she swamps, pile out and scramble for the beach. After all of this struggling the man musters up the last bit of his energy and makes a desperate attempt to run the rest of the way, but only to fall to the ground in his final resting spot. She came all this way, made this amazing journey to obtain medicine for her sick grandson. It takes who it wants, when it wants, with no justification given. Eudora Welty writes of an elderly woman who has to travel quite a distance in December through an unwilling nature that wants to make this journey as challenging as possible. The people at the hospital know that her grandson will not recover from this sickness, and even seem to be unsure as to weather he is still living. This shows how Crane felt that nature was indifferent, taking whoever it liked, whoever it just happened to be. He is able to write with this accuracy and make you believe you are there with the man because he has experienced these himself. London was among this large mass during the late eighteen hundreds that went north. These authors present stories that dig deep into the power struggle between man and nature, often digging deep into the minds of the individual who is caught in the moment, fighting to survive, thinking thoughts that can only be thought in a time of extreme struggle and desperation. He starts to become desperate feeling that his final minutes of life are numbered as nature begins to sink its claws into his inner being.
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Acceptance Essays
