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Article Summary by Sarah C.
In the beginning of the article, McGuire claims there are two completely different definitions about wilderness. The first one expresses how the wilderness is seen as a “blank and threatening void, which we have a moral obligation to develop” (551). This description describes that humans have the responsibility to change the environment for their own benefit, without considering the lives they are destroying while doing so. The second definition expresses the wilderness as a “pristine, Edenic space uncorrupted by human dominance” (551). As McGuire analyzes different writers’ perspectives on the natural world, she discovers that there are more definitions that will encourage people to preserve the untouched land.
Throughout the text, McGuire uses John Muir as an example of someone who sees humans as an observer of the pristine and peaceful wilderness. Muir proves himself to be a Romantic writer because, in his writings, he focuses only on the positive aspects of the Alaskan wilderness and sees nature as a sublime beauty. He describes the Alaskan wilderness as a place where one can find God and be at peace with oneself. Although many people enjoy reading Muir’s writings, other nature writers claim Muir’s writings are not considered to be an accurate description of the natural world. Muir was “describing an Alaska that does not exist” because he never mentions that it was once a home for many native tribes, or the fact that the human population is gradually destroying it (554).
Another nature writer who takes a similar perspective of nature to John Muir is John Haines. Although Haines does write about the peace and serenity of the wilderness he observes, he also recognizes that humans are “active participant[s] in the daily life of the wild” (556). He sees himself as a vital part of the wilderness where humans can live a free life and be at peace with all the other elements of the natural world.
In the article, McGuire also mentions William Cronon, a nature writer who views the relationship between humans and nature more realistically. Cronon believes humans are creating their own wilderness as a “product of a certain Western way of viewing the world” (552). Instead of feeling a personal connection to the natural world, they are creating a wilderness as they would imagine that will benefit them. He believes the definition of wilderness has changed over the years as a result of the change to the lifestyles of the human population.
Although McGuire mentions only a few definitions of wilderness by well-known nature writers, she also expresses the importance of studying several other definitions that will help people form their own. She mentions several times that these definitions do not express the whole picture of the Alaskan wilderness realistically. The best way to form a definition of the natural world is by going out into the wilderness and finding ways you are connected to it. The relationship humans have with the wilderness involves one’s full participation and effort to find their role to preserve the beautiful land we live in.
McGuire, Rosemary. "Understanding Wilderness: Humans And Ecology In Alaskan Nature Writing." Isle: Interdisciplinary Studies In Literature And Environment 16.3 (2009): 551 567. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.
