Blog #15 Carson

I would like to express my admiration that Carson is able to be so passionate about something. She is obviously VERY concerned with the lives of the birds. It is interesting how she describes the dead birds as bodies and corpses. She then backs up her argument with relating that to humans. I’m not sure that I believe that the two (birds and humans) are that closely linked, but she does support her argument well. The idea that we kill things that we dislike just because they bother us and it’s easier falls along nicely with Muir’s approach as well.

Blog #14: Muir #2

I thought this excerpt’s interest was in its description. This was surely one of the more descriptive pieces I’ve read. I loved how Muir describes the Grasshopper and Fly just as much as he describes the Bear. And I have had encounters with bears and can tell you that seeing one in the wild is scary, magnificent, and so much more terrifying that you would ever expect. However, Muir decides that the Grasshopper is more impressive and a better representation of the land. I can agree with him there as well. Sometimes it is the little things that define a place for us. Some of the more common things can mean the most.

Blog #13 Muir

I think Muir is voicing a lot of extreme and one sided opinions. In some ways I do agree with him though. I agree that some things are “beautiful” even if they don’t seem it. Many dangerous animals are beautiful or interesting, and not evil. On a side note, that actually reminds me of Patricia Smith’s poetry. I find it very ugly and harsh, and that harsh, grotesque way about her writing is what makes it beautiful and honest. In the same way I think that all things have a purpose. I don’t think that Muir disagrees with this; he just believes that things have their own purpose, and it is not to serve humans. I can also agree with that. However, he said at one point that people look down on others who sympathize with creatures other than humans. I just don’t think that’s true anymore. I think if you looked down on an animal people would look down on you, no matter how ugly it is. There is also a line where he states that our earth has “made many a successful journey around the heavens ere man was made” and if he is talking about the Christian God in this story, which I believe he is intending to, he would know that God made the world in seven days and humans on the 6th day. That line kind of threw me off as to if he really had a stable argument since a lot of his rant was about how men are trying to play God and decided what God is like. Those are some pretty radical statements.