Mike Emanuele
Cronon insight on object
Cronan perceives the wilderness to be a creation of mankind. He would argue that my object, the seuss spruce, is incorporated into the college’s center because it appeals to the core values he spoke about in his essay. “I celebrate with others who love wilderness the beauty and power of the things it contains. Each of us who has spent time there can conjure images and sensations that seem all the more hauntingly real for having engraved themselves so indelibly on our memories” (Cronan 84). In other words, we load wilderness with core values such as memories and give non human objects meaning. Students and professors alike relate to the tree in the sense of individuality, the tree is so unique because of it’s look and location. It serves as a symbol of how unique the college truly is. To add to Cronan’s argument, all the value we give the tree, does not mean anything. It is just another tree that functions like any other tree. It is just another piece of wilderness. It would not mean anything if it had never been discovered because it becomes nature the moment humans interact with it. Before the college started giving this ideality it was just untouched wilderness, now it has become sacred throughout Geneseo and an icon amongst college campuses. The college has determined that this piece of wilderness is worthy of staying in the college center, simply because it looks different. Now the tree is worthy of being preserved because it is some form of a token; representing coexistence with nature. Ultimately, once again debunking the false dualism between human culture and nature.
Great choice on choosing the quote and connecting your object, the Seuss Spruce, back to Cronon’s argument. Explanation was very accurate and thoughtful.
Hi Mike, Thanks for this. I have a lot of questions, esp. about your idea that the tree is just another piece of wilderness. To think more about this claim, you’re going to need to define wilderness as Cronon does and think about how the spruce does and does not fit the category of wilderness in Cronon’s terms. I don’t see the definition work happening yet, and it’s really important as a first step in figuring out how the spruce connect to and diverges from Cronon’s argument. I also wondered if you had planned to discuss the lightning strike on the tree, and the way this story has worked its way into campus mythology and has become an important part of the culture at Geneseo. Your final sentence made me think about this, in terms of the way the tree is not natural or cultural, but a mixture of the two. At the sentence level, watch out for incomplete sentences! You always needs a subject and a main verb. Thanks for this!