Nature Journal: Part 3

            On September 28th, Christian and I started to research in order to prepare for our presentation on Edward Abbey. Up to this point in the semester the reading has been difficult for me to relate with. The writings of Clark, Carson, Stegner, and Merton seemed to go right over my head. It was not until the second or third time through that the reading started to make any bit of sense. In the end, it was not just that the reading was hard to understand, but it was unrelatable. The method in which these writers describe nature is vastly different than anything I had ever come across before. Regardless of whether I could understand them or not, I had never experienced this type of interpretation. However, there was something about Edward Abbey’s writing that connected with me. Like several of the other nature writers mentioned above, Abbey was born in a small town where he first developed a passion for nature. Although rather than write about nature as an observer, Abbey wrote about nature as a part of it. This introspective aspect is what first caught my attention. Somehow, Abbey was able to describe nature while at the same time interacting with it. I believe this aspect of his writing allowed readers who do not have much experience with traditional nature writing to get their toes wet before diving into the likes of Clark. In fact, I think Abbey does an even better job at not only connecting with his readers but also influencing them. The way Abbey portrays himself as no different than you and I are appeals to me in a way none of the other writers have been able to do. Specifically, when he talks about killing the rattlesnake, he mentions that his first thought is to kill it but after taking time to think about it he decides against killing it. Additionally, Abbey’s use of humor throughout his pieces allows him to talk about topics that might otherwise rub people the wrong way. A lot of the time the reason people are unwilling to change is because the person in charge does not approach it in the correct way. Abbey ties humor into environmental conservation and opens the door to a conservation that needs to be had without stepping on anyone’s toes. Above all, Abbey presents himself as a real person to the readers. Someone you and I can see and imagine. As with Clark and the other writers, they way they talk and the way they think are too foreign for most of us to understand and as a result we are unable to connect with them in the way I did with Abbey.