Margaret Atwood, Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet (9-26-2009)
Self Assessment:
I definitely understood the plot of the story well. I am just not 100% sure on how the teaching resources are supposed to be formatted or how many we need. I also don’t know if I formatted my citation the correct way.
Citation:
Atwood, Margaret. Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet. 2009.
Bburgess@uoregon.edu, et al. “ENG 104: Climate CHANGE FICTION.” ENG 104 Climate Change Fiction, 16 Jan. 2015, blogs.uoregon.edu/eng104/2015/01/16/.
“.” Environmental Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com. 6 Aug. 2021 .” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 13 Aug. 2021, www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/environmental-literacy-and-ecocriticism.
Summary:
This short story is split up in five main parts. Atwood describes “us” as humans in the beginning of time, before we started creating civilizations, cities, currencies and so on and so forth. We created our own Gods and forged them out of wood, “back when wood was still a thing” she says. Our world was bountiful and teeming with life. Birds flew over us by the millions and millions of fish swam in our seas. Then “in the second age” as she puts it, humans started creating money. On one side of the metal coins we had an important figure such as a king, and on the other side was an animal like a bird or a fish. The people were in awe of this money since it could be changed into such things and if you had enough of it, it was said that you would be able to fly. In the third age money became God. It began to talk and create its own. It created feasts and famines, songs of joy, lamentations. No one could stop money and it had no signs of grace. In the fourth age we created “desert’s”, but these weren’t no ordinary deserts. These deserts were fueled by industrious creations with the urge to make more money. These deserts were covered in cement and the rivers flowed rampant with poison. Wars, famines and plagues visited us, but that did not stop the creation of these deserts. The seas were bare and there was no food left to grow. In the fifth age our world was no more. Destroyed by the greed of money and urge to industrialize this world.
Teaching Resources:
bburgess@uoregon.edu, “A Warning To Us All,” https://blogs.uoregon.edu/eng104/2015/01/16/. In this source, the author relates them witnessing melting glaciers and the destruction of villages due to rising river waters to “Time Capsule Found on a Dead Planet.” They say this story is so important because it gives us as readers to ourselves in the perspective of an outsider looking down at earth over the years. This story allows us as the readers to create our own emotions towards the people turning land into “deserts”. Atwood’s use of personification is what makes this story so powerful. She forces the reader to reflect upon society and its flaws, and adds a personal connection to the problem that hasn’t had a personal effect.
Wang, Zhongrui and Wu, Qinghua, “Carbon emission reduction and product collection decisions in the closed-loop supply chain with cap-and-trade regulation”. https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=1c5b323f-a0bc-48eb-bd0c-5dc0ca68a8d3%40sessionmgr101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#AN=151136547&db=bth. The abstract for this article explains how Governments’ emission policies and consumers’ increasing environmental awareness have brought pressure on manufacturers. Specifically, governments are making manufacturers manage their end of life products. This study looks into strategies on carbon emission reduction and used product collection on the basis of cap-and-trade regulation and closed-loop supply chain. Findings show that when the parameters meet a certain condition, the scenario where the manufacturer leads the collection is optimal for carbon emission reduction, used product collection, and profit generation; otherwise, the supply chain will select the retailer to collect used products. The government can affect supply chain decisions by regulating and controlling carbon trading prices.
This abstract pertains to “Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet” because the planet from this story got destroyed because of carbon emissions and pollution. This case study can be extremely helpful to reduce carbon emissions so our planet doesn’t eventually become the planet from “Dead Planet”.
Dupler, Douglas, “Environmental Literacy and Ecocriticism”, https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/environmental-literacy-and-ecocriticism. This article goes in depth on why environmental literacy is important in spreading knowledge on environmental issues. One of the main goals of environmental literacy is to provide learners with the knowledge and experience to assess the health of an ecological system and to develop solutions to the problem. Models for environmental literacy include curriculums that include key ecological concepts, provide hands on opportunities, foster collaborative learning and establish an atmosphere that strengthens a learner’s belief in responsible living. Public interest in environmental education came about in the 1970’s. Much of the drive and funding for environmental education comes from non-profit foundations and educators’ associations such as the association for environmental and outdoor education, the center for ecoliteracy, and the Institute for Earth Education. The National Environmental Act of 1990 directed the Environmental Protection Agency to provide national leadership in the environmental literacy arena. To that end, the EPA established several initiatives including the Environmental Education Center as a resource for educators, and the Office of Environmental Education, which provides grants, training, fellowship, and youth awards.
Literary Analysis:
This story puts the environmental crisis going on today in a 3rd person point of view. Atwood lets us look into this apocalyptic world fueled by money and shows us how we could kill our planet from our greed. Because of this style of writing, Margaret grabs the reader’s attention and shows us we need to wake up and pay attention to climate change, or that fictional world in the story could become non-fiction.
Discussion Questions:
How does Environmental Literature such as “Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet” show readers that they need to pay more attention to environmental issues?
In what ways does Margaret Atwood capture today’s climate issues in a fictional story?
How does environmental literature such as “Time Capsule Found on the Dead Planet” make people aware of environmental issues?
How Language Changes our Perception: Mindset, Gender Equality
and Relationship with Nature
Core Text
Kimmerer, Robin. “Speaking of Nature.” Orion Magazine, Orion Magazine, 28 July 2020, orionmagazine.org/article/speaking-of-nature/.
“One does not inhabit a country; one inhabits a language. That is our country, our fatherland – and no other.”
Emile M. Cioran
Summary
While exploring the many diverse poems, stories, and well known literary works throughout this unit of Environmental Literature, the one that was the most profound to me was “Speaking of Nature” by Robin Kimmerer. Her take on language makes the reader reflect on the power that words have on a cognitive level- that even the slightest vocabulary choices have huge consequences. This work evokes many questions and brings attention to our unconscious ways of thinking and our pre-determined stance on many different issues.
Kimmerer discusses and provides several examples to her claims, on how her tribal language influences our perception. This, she feels, is unfortunately shown by labeling things as he, she or it, by dehumanizing and objectifying parts of nature, by distancing humans from the outside, by labeling what is dead and what is alive, and ultimately, by placing humans above all else. In learning her tribal language, she is able to witness a different way of viewing our relationship with the world.
Literary Analysis
As an author and college botany professor, Kimmerer brings her students to a nearby cemetery right off of campus, where they are asked to ponder and reflect on language and nature, in the realm between the living and deceased. They visit this cemetery twice- once at the beginning of the unit and a final time at the end. By the end of the course, the students will inevitably have more deep and well rounded views concerning the topic of language in life. Through this article, Kimmerer provides the reader with a brief overview of the different components of language that start to make the reader think about our everyday language use in association with the world. There are three ideas in “Speaking of Nature” that can be interconnected, these being: how language influences our perception of mindset, gender equality, and relationships with nature.
To begin, the author truly views nature as being animate. She seems to have discovered this by progressively learning more about her tribal language, Potawatomi. Grammar is a component of language structure that we use to construct our relationships with what is around us, especially nature. Animacy is a subcategory of grammar that distinguishes how “alive” a certain part of speech is. The example she provides is how in Potawatomi, different verbs are used to talk about different things such as hearing a bird vs. hearing an airplane; one would use two completely different verbs. Language is alive; it is part of what sentimentality indicates what the speaker views according to their dependence with the natural world.
Because language use is especially controlled by pronouns, Kimmerer defines the English language as sexist because its speakers always assign a gender to a noun, as opposed to assigning nouns for whether they are alive or not alive (the alive category having a larger collection to what is typically believed). She introduces the idea of “ki” which could be used, “…signify a being of the living earth.” She further explains the idea of “ki” simply being using it in context and not very much explicitly defining it, similarly to how a native speaker would understand this implicitly by use of the language.
This also enables language and people to be held at the same level. The natives of Potawatomi saw the importance of the animals and ecosystems. They needed them to survive so they respected them. It can be concluded that Kimmerer feels that it is unfortunate that animacy does not exist in every language. Kimmerer suggests we use personhood words as opposed to objectification. It is due to our native language and/or the lack of adaptation of aspects in other languages (such as animacy) that create the way humans feel disconnected to nature, simply by the roots of their language.
While animacy is an interesting aspect of language to discuss, many readers being exposed to this concept for the first time may be very skeptical of what Kimmerer has to say. As one finds herself/himself reading “Speaking of Nature ” they will have many questions that enter their minds from the opposing viewpoint. What can be appreciated from this article is that Kimmerer discusses these many arguments and defends her viewpoint in a comprehensive manner, which all tie back to the main concept of broadening our senses to respect nature.
Kimmerer states, “In the English language, a human alone has distinction while all other living beings are lumped with the nonliving “its.” One example of this is how English speakers use “it” to refer to things as if they’re nonliving, but in doing so, it is degrading to nature. The argument to this is that when referring to animals that will be consumed by humans, they are commonly referred to as “it”. This is because it is obvious what is implied by not providing a name. It creates a mental barrier of detachment to prevent people from feeling guilty. Another complication identified to this way of thinking of language is that it could possibly offend religious people. This is because a large number of commonly practiced religions typically follow the teachings that humans were created above all else. This allows a bit of brainstorming for the reasoning behind this in tribal relation to language. Kimmerer suggests that the Bible was written prior to people having a philosophical view of the social implications of language. They were not yet aware of the issue of human’s relationship with nature.
What Kimmerer leaves the reader believing is that words matter. It is not to be taken at surface level — that works can hurt people — but vocabulary importance on a subconscious level. If we make small changes now and are more intentional with vocabulary choices, we will unveil another layer of interconnectedness with our world, and more positive things could arise from that- not just for humans but also for the planet. Above all, Kimmerer’s article encourages its readers to rethink the way they view nature and to focus more on its “beingness.”
Teaching Resources
Mentality and Thought
Language shapes our perception of reality. Consider that in some languages, spatial awareness is oriented differently. In others, there is no use of past, present or future tenses. Some languages contain vocabulary words that can not be translated to another language. The way people view and identify colors is different, partially determined by native language.
These are all subtle differences that impact humans’ perceptions on how the world is viewed. This Ted Talk is very interesting and helps us understand the surprising nuances in one’s native language.
What else can you and your students brianstorm as being contributing factors or differences from language to language, that affect our perception and create our reality?
The exit in sexist
Mills, Sara. “Minding Your Language: Implementing Gender-Free Language Policies.” Critical Survey, vol. 4, no. 2, 1992, pp. 183–190. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41555650. Accessed 1 Aug. 2021.
Laugesen, Amanda. “Changing ‘Man Made Language’: Sexist Language and Feminist Linguistic Activism in Australia.” Everyday Revolutions: Remaking Gender, Sexuality and Culture in 1970s Australia, edited by Michelle Arrow and Angela Woollacott, ANU Press, Acton ACT, Australia, 2019, pp. 241–260. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvq4c17c.16. Accessed 1 Aug. 2021.
Kimmerer discusses how parts of speech are labeled by their gender, being either masculine or feminine. Woman is Mother Nature- the dainty and delicate creature that reins over the children of Earth. In much of literature, Kimmerer points out, the “soft” elements of nature are often labeled as feminine. While she specifically relates gender in language with her own personal experiences with her tribal language, this similar idea can be applied to many other languages with gender pronouns. There are many ways language is sexist and this society is in need of some “verbal hygiene” (Laugesen 241).
“Minding Your Language: Implementing Gender-Free Language Policies” explains how feminist linguistic activists claim that one way to progress in society’s conception of women is to change the involuntary, everyday use of the English language. Mills claims that language is sexist in a variety of manors, to name a few: chairman (instead of chairperson), postman (as opposed to postie), or words like doctor that when speaking about a doctor who is a female, needs to be clarified as “lady doctor.” These innuendos are often subtle, highly likely to go unnoticed regardless of the conversational setting and are probably overlooked by most people when spoken due to the masculine default in common vocabulary, sayings and law. If asked to explain why Anglophones use them, however, the explanation would allude to a place of anthropocentric and patriarchal origins, where “man” (literally) is at the center.
While these may be unintentional uses of sexist language, it becomes a problem when subconsciously, women feel inferior. Likewise, in the school setting, it’s problematic when the young female students feel limited, as if they would not belong in a certain field or occupation strictly because of the social standards of gender roles.
Mills continues by suggesting solutions and points out implications to the variety of efforts to alter our language use. For example, companies can implement language standards in the company handbooks, pamphlets and within the workplace, expecting that at meetings, employees abide by the given guidelines. This may include mandating gender neutralization; it’s the idea that as a society, we should avoid using words and labels for certain duties that separate the sexes. This avoids discrimination and eliminates gender roles.
In the second article cited, Laugesen provides the example of Australia. Australia legally made aligning policies in 1984 under the Sex Discrimination Act. “Changing ‘Man Made Language’: Sexist Language and Feminist Linguistic Activism in Australia.” talks about the success and impacts the country has had since put into place. This article also discusses the contrary and potential difficulties that come with implementing such policies. Focusing so much on the details of how people speak would become tedious and irritating to many. Taking the example of an employment setting, it would not be practical to constantly interrupt colleagues.
As both of these articles would agree, it can not be expected that language will change by itself overnight, but its speakers can serve as the catalysts for this innovation. At minimum, provoking conversation about the topic will call attention to the ongoing debate. We hold this responsibility on an individual level. Because so many people speak without even considering these forever-used vocabulary words, bringing more awareness to the way we speak is the beginning to break sexist language.
Language and Nature
Reo, Nicholas J., et al. “Environmental Change and Sustainability of Indigenous. Languages In Northern Alaska.” Arctic, vol. 72, no. 3, 2019, pp. 215–228. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26822408. Accessed 4 Aug. 2021.
Aligning with Kimmerer’s views of the power indigenous languages hold, Reo discusses the connections between indigenous groups and their decline in relationship with nature and identity throughout Alaska. Due to language shifts and climate change, many of the heritage languages of Alaska are not sustaining and this statistic is predicted to only decline with time. A heritage language is a language (often of minority) that is learned by children at home, which is not the predominant language of the country they are residing. (“Heritage Language.”). Through a series of ethnographic interviews in 2018, the following conclusions were drawn.
The preservation of the identity of indigenous communities in Alaska is very important to its people, language being a major aspect of their identity. While language use and competencies are tending to decrease with each generation, there are Language Nest programs in schools and adult learning programs that exist, as well as mentor-apprentice organizations that connect adolescents with older mentors of their community who will practice the heritage language with them on a regular basis. While this is a step in the right direction, these programs aren’t enough.
In 1998, Alaska officially adopted English, the progressive language, as the state’s official language. After receiving major backlash from the decision, the state declared English along with 20 other heritage languages as part of Alaska’s many official languages. Nonetheless, English has had a predominant presence in the state and there seems to be a pattern. When English was adopted, the state also accepted many social, cultural and environmental changes as well.
The issues in bilingualism are especially evident in school-aged children, who seem to live in two conflicting cultures with different expectations. For example, at home, they may speak Yup’ik with their grandparents and parents. The children may find themselves independent from their family because of communal pressures for parents to work and spend more time away from the house. While at school, the education system has similar values to that of the United States mainland. Another example of this is how sometimes, there is just not a great translation. It’s more accurate to express how one must respect an elder in Iñupiaq, while in English, these expressions don’t exist. As Roe states, “The knowledge encoded in heritage languages from the observations of ancestors has been built up over thousands of years, and losing access to these languages could mean losing links to that knowledge and ways of viewing and understanding the surrounding environment.” (224). Not only are the languages dying as generations are not as adequately learning and carrying on their linguistic skills, but the traditions surrounding their culture and practices are becoming more and more scarce due to environmental changes.
The effects of climate change have caused their resources (especially ice) and traditional activities to become sparse. In a language like Iñupiaq, they have many specific words to explain different types of ice, as well as traditional activities involving land-use, all surrounding their values of group activity and language. Many of their hunting practices and traditional food sources are disappearing because of climate change. Another issue that has arose because of climate change is the safety of the hunters seeking wild-game. In consequence, their traditions are fading and creating a shift in language use.
While English may pose a threat to the indigenous communities of Alaska, their resilience, positive attitudes and persistence are helping to stand up for their roots and preserve their culture, traditions and environment.
Language has the ability to enhance our harmonious lives in balance with nature. Yoga is an art in which its most basic practices derive from the principles of blending movement with nature, and connects the human body with language and its innate surroundings. Many of the poses are based on animal positions and elements of nature, their name’s origin coming from Sanskrit. Since the universal vocabulary of yoga can be difficult to memorize, yoga instructors will often incorporate the English translations of the poses into their practice. The language is what bridges us humans with the peace and embrace of nature in a unique way. Please see my photos below, exemplifying a variety of different yoga poses.
Second language acquisition gives its speakers the ability to live between two different mindsets. If you speak a foreign language, how has learning this language changed how you see or view communication in comparison to the way you communicate in your native language?
Consider the fact that language is constantly evolving. How do you see the way we speak changing in a positive or negative sense and what implications could arise from this, specifically regarding the topic of gender neutralization?
What is your opinion on the stance Kimmerer takes on language and the way we feel about nature? Do you agree with the author that we, as society, need to alter the way we think and speak in order to have a more equivalent identity with our surroundings?
Le Guin, Ursula K. The Word for World is Forest. Tom Doherty, 1972.
Summary: (250 words)
A life without trees will cause humans to leave. Davidson, a human from earth and a leader which they trust has found himself in a difficult position. His home is now filled with cement with not even a sight of green. He takes it upon himself to recolonize onto a new planet, Athshe. Already home to natives, they call “creechies,” have taken their way of life, and enslaved most. Davidson and the rest of his people were tearing up this new planet; so much so that humans became nervous, and “creechies” became angry. One night a violent attack involving rape and a death happened due to Davidson attacking a female “creechy,” Selver’s wife. Selver and Davidson were alike, not in the sense that they are different species, but that they were seen as leaders. Selver had enough of the human’s anticks and attacked Davidson for the crime he did. “Creechies” are non-violent creatures, so for Selver to attack him was really out of character. Both Davidson and Selver flee to calm down. Only to return moments later with different mindsets. Selver talks to his kind, telling them enough is enough and that the humans are turning their planet to dust. He hatches a plan to kill every human in sight, every woman, child and man, in order to save Athshe. They succeed and as they act against their once non-violent ways. Selver, not proud of what he has done, believed it was necessary to save his kind and his planet.
Resources: (658 words)
Clement, Matthew Thomas, et al. “Urbanization and LAND-USE Change: A Human Ecology of DEFORESTATION across the United States, 2001-2006.” Sociological Inquiry, vol. 85, no. 4, 2015, pp. 628–653., doi:10.1111/soin.12097.
The reading and study show us the impact on urbanization and the population have on forests across the United States. This research was done in 2001 to 2006. Although the information gathered is not around today’s time frame, it still presents us with much needed information. In relation to the novel and this article, I found that they both one thing in common, over population and destruction or construction for that matter. With a lot of people, come more homes, schools, parks, and construction on our green land, leaving us with cement. In fact, Davidson left due to over construction. As said in the article, “Hard deforestation involves the permanent loss of forest cover to roads, houses, commercial centers, and industrial facilities…” (Page 246-246) Once this starts happening trees will begin to fall faster and we’ll be left with fake air. Soon after, we won’t want to live on earth and move to another planet. The novel is very scary in that almost possible outcome in the far future. (169 words)
Jorgenson, Andrew K., and Thomas J. Burns. “Effects of Rural and Urban Population Dynamics and National Development on Deforestation in Less-Developed Countries, 1990-2000.” Sociological Inquiry, vol. 77, no. 3, 2007, pp. 460–482., doi:10.1111/j.1475-682x.2007.00200.x.
Written even before the article above, this article addresses most concerns from above. The difference between rural and urban is quite simple. Yet the impact each has on deforestation is surprising. Rural areas are known as farms and open lands. Urban areas have cities, overpopulation and construction all around. However, the information from studies within this article show research one may not expect. “… growth in rural population increases deforestation while growth in urban population suppresses or decreases this form of environmental degradation.” (Page 476, paragraph 2) To my surprise, rural areas, areas with green land and freedom, come at a price. Poverty and deforestation go hand in hand in rural areas. Due to the lack of material, these areas struggle with desertification, soil degradation, and erosion. Not only that, but the high areas, succeeding with forests get taken over by big cooperation’s and factory’s, which also lead to the lack of green. To connect the novel and this article, it is not about rural, urban, or suburban areas; while I thought it was interesting, it is more about human impact on earth. In the novel, Selver killed humans as they were ripping up his land. It also explained Davidson and his reasoning for fleeing earth as it was filled with cement. In the novel the struggle with human activity and from 1990 to 2000 we see the same thing. I can only imagine what it would be like today. (240 words)
Pau, Stephanie, et al. “A Dynamic History of Climate Change and Human Impact on the Environment From Keālia Pond, Maui, Hawaiian Islands.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers, vol. 102, no. 4, 2012, pp. 748–762., doi:10.1080/00045608.2011.652853.
Taken place on Hawaiian Islands, this article gives clear and detailed information on how humans impact our environment. In the novel, it is clear humans made a big impact; not only on earth but also on Athshe. Davidson, the leader, decided to take over Athshe and affect their way of life without considering the damage he’s doing. He must have thought that would be no consequences or that natives would simply let him do this. Either way, the reason for him and his people to leave earth was due to the lack of nature and cement everywhere. With his arrival on a new planet then caused the decrease in nature’s beauty. When this was brought to Davidson’s attention, he dismissed it. The lack of understanding and learning from the past is incredible. In the article, we learned that while humans have not made significant and quick impact on the Hawaiian Islands, there has been a steady disturbance to nature. Humans are not the only reason to blame, forest fires and other natural disasters play a role. However, humans add to the disruption, such as construction. It is important to understand nature and development. As time passes, it is normal for cities, towns, and other areas to develop, but to control it is key. I believe the novel and the article are different in this aspect, as Davidson did what he wanted and for that the natives wanted revenge, but Polynesians understand and develop the Hawaiian Islands as time progresses. (249 words)
Literary Analysis and Devices: (373 words)
Analysis
The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin gives a sad and scary fictional story that almost seems too real. In the novel, natives from the planet Athshe are welcomed by humans from earth. Humans left earth when they realized the damage, they put upon it. Once earth and nature were no longer beautiful and sustainable, they left. Now embarking on new territory, they enslave natives, giving them new names, “creechies.” This novel represents war, destruction, and damage to our world. It isn’t until an incident involving sexual assault and death when Selver, a “creechy”, decides he’s had enough. Him and his natives attack the humans, killing and burning down everything. They did so to keep their planet safe. Towards the end of the reading, there was a question as to if the natives will leave their non-violent ways and turn on each other. It is up for the reader to interpret what may happen. (158 words)
Devices
Allegory– to start off, allegory is defined as discussing or revealing something with a deeper meaning, typically about real-world occurrences. Our world is of course real and should be taken seriously. By the novel saying humans had to leave earth because we destroyed it by playing with cement is a real thing that humans do daily. This novel lets readers realize what could happen if we don’t stop the unnecessary construction.
Imagery– this literary device is what it sounds like, what the novel provides visually. In this novel, because it is violent, you can visually imagine the attacks. Each character is described in great detail as well, giving the reader the ability to see what the author wants them to see. It is almost like a movie in that sense.
Cliffhanger– ever seen a really good movie about a couple that is friends but loves each other and then the movie ends without giving you an answer on whether or not they got together? Well, this is a cliffhanger. In the novel, Selver says he doesn’t think their planet, Athshe, will return to normal as the natives now know how to kill. The ending doesn’t specify whether or not natives turned on each other and for that reason, I label this novel as a cliffhanger. (215 words)
Discussion Questions: (215 words)
From The Word for World is Forest we learned that “creechies” are non-violent creatures. However, when Selver became a “God” to his people, he instructed that they kill every human to save their planet. How would you describe Selver’s actions in the novel and do you agree with them? Explain.
From the novel, “creechies” now know how to murder. At the end of the book, Selver admits he is nervous if they will start killing each other as they are now no longer non-violent. What do you think will happen? Will “creechies” remain peaceful or will they turn on each other? Describe your answer and explain how you believe this will impact their planet.
Why does deforestation from rural, urban, suburban areas impact us? Natural disasters and lack of resources for instance; we have people coming to our country to be free but what if they were coming and destroying our forests. Do you think we will start turning on others as they did in the novel?
Not only from the novel and sources provided but also from the information we learned throughout this course, we learned that a lot of people are taking nature for granted. How would you help our environment and change this to keep our planet green?
This image displays one of the many different book covers used for the novel, “Frankenstein.” This novel was written in 1817 by the author, Mary Shelley. This image shows a representation of what Victor Frankenstein’s creature looked like.
Credit to: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/DT1/puffin-classics
Core Text:
Shelley, Mary W. Frankenstein. New York: New York Post, 2004. Print.
Summary:
“Frankenstein” begins with letters written by a character, Robert Walton. In these letters, he wrote to his sister about a mission he had been on overseas. While overseas, Walton meets the creature created by Victor Frankenstein. The novel then jumps to the life of Victor Frankenstein, and his life in Geneva. Victor attended the university of Ingolstadt where he became passionate about discovering the secret of life. Through this fascination, Victor starts a project which took him months to complete. Through using old body parts and science knowledge, Victor brings to life a creature of his own. He quickly realizes this creature he created was not what he expected. Fasting forwarding throughout the book, Victor hears about the death of his brother who he believes was killed by his creature. As the novel continues, Victor takes a trip to the mountains to ease his grief where he later encounters his creature again. The creature admits to murdering William, but he tells Victor that he did so out of anger because he was left alone with no help about how the world works. After more deaths of characters that took place, Victor was determined that he was going to kill his creature that he created. While on his voyage, Victor meets Walton who was the one writing him letters in the beginning of the novel. Victor then dies of sickness and when Walter enters the room of where his body was laying, he sees the creature standing over him. The creature then says that since his creator has died, he can as well. So, he then sets off into the icy waters and dies.
This image displays a map of the real-life places that inspired Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein.” Most of the novel takes place in Switzerland where Shelley stayed when writing “Frankenstein.” Throughout the novel, Victor Frankenstein visits Germany, France, England, and Scotland.
Garrison, Alysia. “What ‘Frankenstein’ Can Tell Us About Climate Change.” Wbur, 4 May 2016, wbur.org/cognoscenti/2016/05/04/politics-literature-2016-election-alysia-garrison. Accessed 4 Aug. 2021. The year 1816 was known as the “Year without a summer” due to the features in natures that were seen throughout the world such as dark skies, record snowfalls, frozen rivers, and dead crops. Part of the inspiration for the novel, “Frankenstein,” by Mary Shelley was climate change and how this affected the environment as well as the world. We can see this same type of weather that was displayed during this time period in when the novel was written which is how we can relate this text to the topic of climate change. As this article describes the weather and environmental features that were displayed, it states, “The world was void, The populous and the powerful was a lump, seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, a lump of death.”
Laurence, Rebecca. “Why Frankenstein is the story that defines our fears.” The BBC, BBC, 13 June 2018, www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180611-why-frankenstein-is-the-story-that-defined-our-fears. Accessed 4 Aug. 2021.“Frankenstein,” also known as “The Modern Prometheus,” tells the story of a young philosophy student who is determined to bring a creature alive, although when he completes this task he quickly regrets his creation. This novel falls into the genre category of both science and gothic fiction as we learn about the dangers of playing God as well as abandonment and rejection of a human creature. As this 2018 article states, “The novel has been used as an argument both for and against slavery and revolution, vivisection and the Empire, and as a dialogue between history and progress, religion and atheism.
Wysession, Michael. “Frankenstein Meets Climate Change: Monsters of Our Own Making.” The Common Reader, Common Reader, 26 Oct. 2018, commonreader.wustl.edu/c/frankenstein-meets-climate-change-monsters-of-our-own-making/. Accessed 4 Aug. 2021.The topic of climate change plays a huge role in Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein,” 18 year old, Mary Godwin took a vacation to Geneva with her soon to be husband and their friends. The group of writers decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story, which is when Mary wrote “Frankenstein.” The dark and gloomy weather they experienced while on their trip was a huge inspiration to her novel. During that time, a huge volcano had erupted which was the cause of the bad weather. Due to the eruption, climate changes occurred globally due to over 100 million tons of sulfate aerosols that were ejected. The article states, “The 1816 summer in New England was cold and severe, with widespread crop failures and snows in July and August, leading to the well-known label of “the year without a summer.” This was the inspiration for Mary Shelley to write “Frankenstein.”
Literary Analysis and Devices:
Genre:
The novel, “Frankenstein,” falls into the category of a few genres such as science fiction and gothic fiction. This novel can be considered gothic fiction due to its features of mystery, secrecy, and unsettling psychology as it tells the story of the monster created by Victor Frankenstein. Science fiction is seen as a genre in this novel, because it brings to life the idea of ways that science and technology can be progressed when used in different applications.
Literary Analysis:
The meteorological change that took place in the year of 1816, also known as “the year without a summer” influenced the novel, “Frankenstein,” by Mary Shelley. This period in time was full of dark skies, record snowfalls, rivers that were frozen, and dead crops. These features in nature can be seen throughout reading this novel. Shelley also used descriptive imagery alluding to this time period which stated, it was a “wet, ungenial summer” filled with “incessant rain.” Part of the inspiration in this novel came from the issue within nature, known as climate change. The impeccable weather that took place during this period in time, caused a 3-year meteorological catastrophe. This harsh weather, such as thunder, lightning, rain, and ice caps is seen throughout reading “Frankenstein.” Not only does this paint an image of scenery in the text, but it also creates a foreground of environmental problems as well as issues that arise in social, political, and economic conditions. As we read in the novel, Victor Frankenstein creates a monster whose birthday can resemble the early period in time that Paul Crutzen, a Dutch chemist, named the Anthropocene, also known as the geological age, where human activity became the leader of climate change. This brought to life the idea of the monster’s body which was able to be used as a simple source for many wrong endeavors seen in the environment such as, toxic sludge, costal erosion, land mines, chemical runoff, and extreme weather. This science fiction novel was inspired through the period in time where a disrupt environment took place through the change in global weather patterns, known as climate change.
During the time period, “A year without a summer,” the features in nature were very distinct. This image displays a scene from the novel showing gloomy weather through the dark skies that creates a stormy feel. As you can see above, the ships are turning on their sides creating a wicked, dark scene that is understood through reading the novel, “Frankenstein.”
Personification– Victor Frankenstein’s creature is an example of personification. His creature was made up of inanimate object and body parts that were once dead which shows personification by giving something that is nonhuman the characteristics of a real human.
Simile– “No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success…” (Chapter 4, page 44). This sentence used by Mary Shelley exhibits the use of a simile through comparing feelings to a hurricane with using the word “like.”
Imagery: Mary Shelley added a lot of imagery throughout her novel to allow her audience to imagine what Victor Frankenstein’s creature looked like. She described this creature as having thin yellow skin that exposed the internal parts of the monster, as well as describing the once lustrous black hair that now made this monster look scarier. Imagery allows readers to deepen their understanding of the literature they are reading. Mary Shelley allows her message she is portraying in her novel to make sense to her reader through using imagery.
Discussion Questions:
If you were in the shoes of Victor Frankenstein, after creating his creature, what would you have done differently? Would you have chosen to abandon the creature like Victor, or would you have chosen to take it in as your own?
Imagine you were given the chance to create any type of creature through the use of science and the environment around you. What would this creature look like? Would this creature have any special powers or ability to do things? How would you go about creating this creature?
After reading the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, what do you think it means to be a monster? As you read throughout the novel, Victor Frankenstein created a monster who was released into the world. Victor did not like his creation and chose to abandon him. Why do you think he would have chosen to abandon his own creation? Do you think Victor Frankenstein is the true monster in the novel, or do you agree with Victor that his creation is the monster? Explain.
Summary: The poem starts off with Sylvia taking her cow home. Sylvia comes across an ornithologist hunting birds to “preserve” the species. The hunter and Sylvia return to the farm as the hunter increases his charm. The ornithologist, or hunter, only cares about finding the bird. The company of Sylvia is just an added bonus. However, Sylvia is not a pushover when it comes to spilling the beans on the Heron’s whereabouts. No matter the offer the hunter provides, Sylvia keeps her lips shut. The two go searching for the heron’s nest and Sylvia starts falling for the hunter. This is quite the predicament since she hates hunting the birds. In the end, Sylvia never reveals where the Heron is hidden. Jewett lived in a village in Boston with quite the social and literary life. After travelling to many different cities, she would always enjoy coming back to her peaceful village. Sylvia and Jewett share the common factor of finding enjoyment in nature from time to time. The hunter is a handsome man who tries to persuade Sylvia that a social life is what she needs. He offers rewards and explains the richness of a social life compared to the shallows of farmland and nature. However, Sylvia would not benefit from this man because she was not ready for a social life, nor did she love the idea of taking a life from nature to enrich her life.
Analysis: The author uses literary devices throughout the entirety of the piece. Not just once or twice either. Each passage has its own way of discussing the story that allows for good analysis of the poem. Some of the literary devices you may spot in the poem include personification, imagery, and a few others. Word choice, diction, and imagery play a huge role in this poem. The way she describes the heron in particular contributes largely to the usage of these three literary devices. “A queer tall white bird with soft feathers and long thin legs” (Jewett, Paragraph 1). The hunter describes the heron as more of an awkward trophy that is rare meanwhile this is not at all how Sylvia sees the great bird. “a white spot of him like a single floating feather comes up from the dead hemlock and grows larger, and rises” ( Jewett, Paragraph 2). Sylvia sees the bird as life rising from the dead hemlock. She proceeds to notice its call for its mate and many other features about the bird that make nature itself outweigh the social life the hunter was offering. The way the heron is described by each person not only shows the protagonist and antagonist, but it also shows the two views of nature we as humans have. We can see nature as a grand show of colors, textures, animals, plants, and just life as it flourishes, or we can see it as an object meant for use, entertainment, and selfish purposes.
Annotated Bibliography:
Jewett, Sarah. “A White Heron & Other Stories.” Jewett Texts. https://www.enotes.com/topics/white-heron (accessed August 4, 2021).
The Jewett Texts is just the text we used to access this poem. Near the bottom of the text, information regarding previous publication can be acquired. Overall, this source is just meant for citation purposes if a quote is used or if the whole poem is wished to be read. Anytime I refer to a scene in the poem can be easily found on this link since the poem knowledge I have obtained was accessed from here.
This source has a lot of useful information on it. It contains subjects regarding the author, the plot, characters, etc. You can read up on Sarah Orne Jewett’s life in Boston, her accomplishments, or her work on “The White Heron”. The site also contains information on criticism of the text, the historical context, themes, and style of the text.
Sarah Orne JEWETT’S “a White Heron”. NEH. (n.d.). https://edsitement.neh.gov/student-activities/sarah-orne-jewetts-white-heron.
This site is more proof regarding the accuracy of the information being distributed. This site is published and authorized by the government so I would hope that the information is justified. The subjects discussed in the post are for grade levels kindergarten through 5th grade, but the deeper analysis is pulled from the other two sources. This post discusses each passage with its own analysis. Then there are questions along with each passage. Just remember that these are meant for elementary levels, but the information is incredible.
Questions:
Note that Jewett uses an abundance of diction throughout the poem. Are there any particular sections that can prove the true intentions of Sylvia to the reader before we witness her choice not to show the heron to the hunter?
As we follow the hunter and Sylvia through the forest, there are a few glimpses of appreciation for nature provided by Sylvia. Can you please explain why Sylvia climbing a tree is a good example of the previous statement?
As I have previously mentioned, the use of imagery largely contributes to the story. Are there any parts in which Sylvia’s character can be symbolized using imagery? What about the hunter? Or even the heron?
Ruth, a Japanese-American writer based in Waletown, British Columbia, finds a hello kitty lunchbox on the beach that carries within it the diary of Nao, a California-born teenager who moved to Japan with her family after her father lost his Silicon Valley job in the 90s.
Because the “Anthropocene” holds all humans accountable for global climate change, Demos argues that it disavows the unequal distribution of resources, aid, and responsibility between parties who either suffer or benefit the most from its causes and effects. It is the “underlying heteropatriarchal and white supremacist structures” whose fossil fuel industries are the worst perpetrators of environmental abuse, (Demos, 2017: 53).
