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Week 8: The Trouble with Wilderness

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Reading William Cronon’s “The Trouble with Wilderness” made me realize that our era of “aesthetics” has always existed. He describes the wilderness as “not a pristine sanctuary where the last remnant of an untouched, endangered, but still transcendent nature can for at least a little while longer be encountered without the contaminating taint of civilization.” I thought this was really funny and so accurate to refer to human civilization as a “taint” contaminant because anything we touch and access we ultimately destroy. Our idea of wilderness is a fragment that we created. Cronon continues by noting that “As we gaze into the mirror it holds up for us, we too easily imagine that what we behold is Nature when in fact we see the reflection of our own unexamined longings and desires.” Our perception is flawed because we only see through the lens of our own cultural experiences and desires. Cronon highlights this by pointing out that “what brought each of us to the places where such memories became possible is entirely a cultural invention.” I found this to be interesting because at one point in time, the idea of wilderness was cultivated around a biblical meaning, and it was associated with terror and fear. As society progressed and people and politics became more secular, the idea of wilderness followed that secular path.

Close-Reading Midterm: Oannes

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Hiba Aljawad

“Oannes” And Human Development

To progress as a human civilization, we must look beyond ourselves for progress and future development. Earth and its non-human attributes existed before humans did, and there is a lot to be learned from non-human creations that would significantly impact human existence. “Oannes” teaches us to view and respect nonhuman creatures to gain knowledge and wisdom that is necessary for human existence, progress, and development. 

As a society, it has been instilled in us to be fearing of non-human creatures. Looking at human civilizations, order and progress have been necessary to further the expansion of human development. The role that nature plays in this expansion is vital to the progress of our societies. This is significant because nature is what pushes order and progress in our universe. Furthermore, we define nonhuman creatures as part of the natural ecosystem that keeps the “order” in our universe. By learning from nonhuman creatures instead of fearing them, we can gain further knowledge and wisdom that will broaden our understanding and advance our learning in the world. 

“Oannes” expands on the idea that humans are in need of help from nature to advance and improve the world. In the introduction to “Oannes”, The Book of Mermaids reports that Oannes, as well as other hybrid creatures, are characterized as “holders of knowledge” (pg. 3). This emphasizes the point that nonhuman creatures are a source for a deeper understanding of the world. This concept is significant because by respecting nonhuman creatures as “holders of knowledge”, we gain a deeper understanding of how our world is connected which fosters the acceptance of wisdom that is present in nonhuman creatures. Moreover, “Oannes” makes it apparent that people need guidance by pointing out that in Bayblon there was” a great resort of people… who inhabited Chaldea, and lived without rule and order, like the beasts of the field” (pg. 3). This idea highlights that human nature is to act beastly. To be specific, we commonly fear nonhuman creatures for their animalistic behaviors and sporadic tendencies; however, through natural kingdoms, we learn a lot about the rule and order in our ecosystems which helps foster a better understanding of our environment. Through this understanding, these ecosystems are replicated to a certain extent to create a balance between humans and other nonhuman entities. We can derive wisdom from nonhuman creatures and “Oannes” illustrates this by noting that the appearance of “an animal endowed with reason” surfaced the land (pg. 3). This hybrid creature– Oannes, encompassed the body of a fish with a second head underneath the fish head and legs like that of man (pg. 4). This illustration draws the differences between the hybrid creature and humans which foreshadows the idea that despite the differences, this creature holds an abundance of knowledge. To expand on this, Oannes would “converse with men, but took no food at that season; and he gave them an insight into letters, sciences, and every kind of art” (pg. 4). This example highlights the selflessness of Oannes as a teacher of valuable knowledge that does not ask for anything in return. This is significant because it teaches humans that through empathy, collaboration is fostered which enables growth and societal progress. Furthermore, Oannes taught many things that would help push a society forward such as to “construct houses, to found temples, to compile laws…” and “everything which could tend to soften manners and humanise mankind” (pg. 4). This example suggests that without nature being our teacher and source of knowledge, humans would not have been able to shape human civility. This notion is significant because it molds the idea that through valuing and respecting nonhuman creatures, we progress as a society through compassion and esteemed civility. To highlight the respect that is deserved to Oannes, the writer notes that “when the sun set it was the custom of this Being to plunge into the sea… for he was amphibious” (pg. 4). This emphasizes his nonhuman nature to demonstrate that nature is a human ally, working with us and shares the common goal of progression and advancement in this world. This encourages the suppression of fear in nonhuman creatures and fosters trust to be built to expand the goal of seeking knowledge. 

To conclude, the myth of “Oannes” teaches us that human progression and the craving for knowledge and wisdom can be accomplished by learning from nonhuman creatures, which is possible through respect and value. Our fear of anything nonhuman sets us back as a civilization and prevents our growth. In other words, the wisdom gained from nature could outweigh the fears we have. 

Works Cited 

Bacchilega and Brown, The Penguin Book of Mermaids, Penguin books, 2019

Oannes

Week 7: The Little Mermaid

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Reading The Little Mermaid this week has been intriguing. (I haven’t actually seen the Disney version either so this is my first impression of the “Original” Little Mermaid before I invest time in watching the Disney twist).

I am really intrigued by the imagery and descriptive words used by the author to describe this “underground” water-world. Various aspects of the text foster the idea that the human world is very glorious. Furthermore, the princesses described their initial response to visually seeing the human world in a way that encourages an appreciation for our world. For example, one of the princesses compared the sunset sky to “gold” to create a visual for the other princesses of how different and more fantastic our world is than the water-world. This is important because it highlights the humanity that exists amongst these creatures. The aspect of their humanity is significant because it creates an element of relatability to our temptations and curiosity. It is natural for us humans to be curious, to want to explore different countries and learn about different cultures. Similarly, these mermaids had the same curiosity.

Week 6: Undine

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Reading Undine brought a different perspective to humans vs. merpeople. The different readings we have explored illustrated mermaids as either symbols of sin, vanity, temptation, or as embodiments of higher power such that we saw in Oannes. Undine made their existence seem almost depressing and merely insignificant.

In Undine, Friedrich De La Motte Fouque, draws a connection between various natural elements and these “soulless” creatures while highlighting some fundamental flaws that come with having a soul. Specifically, he notes how these creatures wish to be human because “all beings aspire to be higher than they are” (Penguin, 105). In other words, human life does not really end. Our bodies are just temporary placeholders of our soul/spirit, and upon death we move on to a higher place. Undine explains how unlike humans, other creatures upon death just “vanish into dust,” highlighting how insignificant existence really is for them. Fouque ties nature into it by highlighting that upon death they just remain on earth with the wind, trees, and waves. Their existence ends and just turns into meaningless dust.

Although Fouque illustrates these creatures’ lives being insignificant, he also points out a how flawed humans are by bringing to light Undine’s husband’s betrayal. Even though he accepts her, he ends up betraying her for Bertalda. It poses the question, would you rather metaphysically exist forever with negative elements or would you rather get one life and make the most out of it before turning into dust?