Nature Revelator

This study aims at highlighting the relevance of nature writing in both the American andnbsp;British literary canon. The very concept of nature writing has too often been ridiculed and disregarded by various critics over the last centuries as a romantic, or rather romanticised,nbsp;fantasy that cannot keep up with the realities of the harsh natural environments. Labelling or even defining nature writing as mere rdquo;bourgeois escapismrdquo; does not do it justice. This study aims at highlighting the relevance of nature writing in both the American andnbsp;British literary canon. The very concept of nature writing has too often been ridiculed and disregarded by various critics over the last centuries as a romantic, or rather romanticised,nbsp;fantasy that cannot keep up with the realities of the harsh natural environments. Labelling or even defining nature writing as mere rdquo;bourgeois escapismrdquo; does not do it justice. Therefore, in this dissertation I intend to emphasize and not glorify the importance of naturenbsp;writing in analysing various works of authors that have put nature at the core of their work. In turn I am hoping to convey how each of the following writers reveal aspects of the humannbsp;condition in focusing on nature and naturersquo;s appeal to humanity. It is in confronting nature, living in nature, living with nature that we can discover who we really are. Thus, I intend tonbsp;demonstrate how prominent writers like Henry David Thoreau, Ernest Hemingway, Jon Krakauer and Robert Macfarlane have managed throughout various centuries 19th centurynbsp;to 21st century to do just that; writing about nature in a way that makes us aware of our own humanity. Thoreaursquo;s philosophical exposé lsquo;Waldenrsquo;, Hemingwayrsquo;s short novel lsquo;The Oldnbsp;Man and the Searsquo;, Robert Macfarlanersquo;s cultural history lsquo;Mountains of the Mindrsquo;, and John Krakauerrsquo;s non-fiction novel lsquo;Into the Wildrsquo; serve as a way to highlight the diversity ofnbsp;nature writing. The reason for choosing these very different authors from different periods and different backgrounds is to demonstrate the vast panoply and the numerous layers thatnbsp;nature writing entails. At the same time, I find it interesting to investigate how certain aspects of nature writing might have changed throughout the centuries while alsonbsp;highlighting its similarities that still remain. The introduction of this thesis is not only going to define the concept of nature writing, but is also going to explain what I mean by ldquo;thenbsp;human conditionrdquo;. I then intend to present the four authors through the very landscapes that lie at the core of the works discussed in this dissertation. In beginning with the father ofnbsp;modern nature writing - American author, poet, essayist and philosopher, Henry David Thoreau - the first chapter will set the framework for this entire dissertation as it gives anbsp;historical as well philosophical background to Thoreaursquo;s transcendentalist ideas and writings. Thoreaursquo;s ideas are going to be explored in the chapter lsquo;The Forestrsquo; whereas thenbsp;chapters lsquo;The Searsquo;, lsquo;The Mountainsrsquo; and lsquo;The Wilderness - A Journeyrsquo; are going to deal with Hemingway, Macfarlane, and Krakauerrsquo;s works respectively. In outlining the variousnbsp;aspects of these selected works ndash; nature as refuge, nature as a source of regeneration, nature as escape, nature the unknown, and nature vs. society ndash; I am then going to conclude withnbsp;the similarities and differences between the protagonists of these four pieces of writing: Thoreau himself, Santiago, Macfarlane himself and Christopher MacCandless.