Joshua IstedAmerican Fiction 1st Formative Essay

Dr Sam Thomas

In Wildness is the preservation of the world (Henry David Thoreau, Walking, 1862). What
does Wildness contribute to American fiction?
(You may answer, if you wish, on non-fiction, such as travel writing, or on representations of America in film or
visual art; and you may interpret Wildness in any way you find interesting e.g. theme, setting or form, etc.)

The role and function of wildness in American fiction, in terms of the natural world, can be
revealed through a study of the portrayal of the physical wilderness itself and the way in
which uncivilised areas of America have been perceived in its literature. Nature is a common
motif in fiction, which has been used by American authors to signify both the antithesis of
civilisation but also as a means to hold up a mirror to human nature. Originally seen by
pioneers merely as uncultivated land, ripe for settlement, perceptions of the wilderness
progressively changed after the disappearance of the frontier.1 As railroads, freeways, cities
and populations multiplied across the formerly wild surface of America, the ensuing removal
from its natural origins has stimulated a greater appreciation for the wilderness over the last
two centuries.
The seminal American wilderness text, Henry David Thoreaus Walden, imbues nature
with spiritual and philosophical significance. Despite its incongruities, Thoreaus goal to
enter the woods and front only the essential facts of life2 resonates through many examples
of American literature. In these works, a tension can often be felt between the desire for this
way of life outside the confines of human society and our apparent incompatibility with the
wild, which leads to an impulse to conquer and alter the landscape. Since Thoreau, the
American wilderness has continually been portrayed as an avenue of self-discovery and
meditation, an avenue simultaneously paved with unforgiving dangers and Romantic notions
of truth and beauty.
The pleasure that Thoreau experiences from his back-to-nature experiment can be
detected to a similar degree in Twains work. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, during their
adventures as pirates, Tom, Huck and Joe decide to live indefinitely on an uninhabited island.
During their brief stay, the boys relish the newfound freedom offered by their distance from
society and vow to never go back: It seemed glorious sport to be feasting in that wild, free
1 Roderick Frazier Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind, 4th ed. (Yale: Yale
University Press, 2001). Xiv, referred to henceforth as (WATAM).
2 Henry David Thoreau, Walden, (New York: Dover Publications Inc, 1995). 59,
referred to henceforth as (W).
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Joshua IstedAmerican Fiction 1st Formative Essay

Dr Sam Thomas

way in the virgin forest of an unexplored and uninhabited island, far from the haunts of
men[] they would never return to civilization.3 A comparable escape is present in Zane
Greys Riders of The Purple Sage. The characters of Venters and Bess discover the unsullied
Surprise Valley, the most beautiful and wildest place of the uplands.4 More earthly
paradise than wilderness, this valley of dreams (ROTPS 153) is isolated from the man-made
wildness of the Wild West and provides an edenic background for the kindling of an
unlikely romance. In terms of non-fiction, the story of the self-styled Aesthetic Voyager 5
Christopher McCandless as told in Jon Krakauers Into The Wild is one of a young man
disillusioned with society, who abandoned his family to live off the land in the Alaskan bush,
free to wallow in unfiltered experience. (ITW 23) McCandless, an avid reader of Thoreau
and Jack London sought the solitude and total freedom of the wilderness. (WATAM 47) In
his own words, scrawled on a piece of plywood found in his isolated retreat; no longer to be
poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.
(ITW 165) Although hardly unique, the story of his spiritual revolution (ITW 163) and
eventual death by starvation has inspired several books and a critically acclaimed film
adaptation, a testament to what Krakauer calls the grip wilderness has on the American
imagination. (ITW 1)
As well as an alternative lifestyle to the constraints of civilisation, in these texts the
wilderness also offers a background for meditation and self-discovery. In The Adventures of
Tom Sawyer, Twain describes a delicious sense of repose and peace in the deep pervading
calm. (TS 70) Being from Toms perspective, this appreciation of silence seems
uncharacteristic of the mischievous young boys behaviour thus far. Tom is enraptured and
left to sit and watch as the Marvel of nature[] unfolded itself to the musing boy. (TS 71)
When the pirates are sitting by the campfire after their conversation has dwindled, listening
to the sounds of the wilderness, Twain states in a short, isolated sentence that They fell to
thinking. (TS 72) Away from the distractions of society, the childrens senses also appear to
3 Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn,
(Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1992). 68, referred to henceforth as
(TS).
4 Zane Grey, Riders of the Purple Sage, (Maryland: Arc Manor Publishers, 2008).
113, referred to henceforth as (ROTPS).
5 Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild, (New York: Villard Books, 1996). 163, referred to
henceforth as (ITW).
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Joshua IstedAmerican Fiction 1st Formative Essay

Dr Sam Thomas

have been sharpened. After catching their own dinner, it is said that no fish had ever seemed
so delicious, a fact which Twain attributes to the sauce of open-air experience. (TS 72)
Venters and Bess in Riders of the Purple Sage seem to follow the 'Big Two-Hearted
River tradition; taking your wounds to the wilderness for a cure, a conversion, a rest, or
whatever.6 Surprise Valley becomes a retreat for the convalescing of Bess, where 'life is pure
and sweet,' a bountiful and romantic wilderness, full of literal treasure (ironically in the form
of gold, of little value outside of civilisation) and a backdrop for realisations of love and
hidden strength. Zane Grey's extensive descriptions of the landscape depict the uncivilised
world as a place of rich experiences. Because of their stay in the valley, Venters' and Bess'
fortunes are greatly improved and by the end of the novel they seem to have taken away both
monetary and emotional wealth.
Just as Moses climbed Mt Sinai in order to receive the Ten Commandments and Jesus
'emerged from the wilderness prepared to speak for God,' (WATAM 17) Christopher
McCandless' mission seems to be to find a hidden truth innate in the wilderness. A copy of
Walden found with his body had the following passage highlighted: Rather than love, than
money, than fame, give me truth. The word 'TRUTH' had been added in block capitals to the
margin. (ITW 117) As Paul Shepard posits, To the desert go prophets and hermits[] not to
escape but to find reality.7 This quasi-religious attitude to the wilderness is shared by
Thoreau, who claims that Olympus is but outside of the Earth everywhere (W 55) and that
to talk of heaven is to disgrace earth. (W 130) Even in Tom Sawyer, the boys woodland
retreat is referred to as a forest temple. (TS 68) The parallels between Surprise Valley and
the Garden of Eden also clearly hint at a return to a pre-lapsarian state for its residents in a
wilderness setting.
Despite the apparent reverence for unoccupied land, characters in these texts often
betray an urge to settle, conquer and alter the wilderness. In Riders of the Purple Sage,
Venters slowly domesticates the newfound valley, introducing soil, corn and cattle in order to
make the land more comfortable. This process carries significant cultural weight for early
America, and was a staple of the frontiersman attitude in a time when conversion of a
wilderness into a desirable residence for man[] may compensate the want of ancient
6 Edward Hoagland, Up The Black To Chalkyitsik, in Into The Wild, 70.
7 Paul Shepard, Man In The Landscape: A Historic View Of The Esthetics Of Nature, In Into
The Wild, 25.

Joshua IstedAmerican Fiction 1st Formative Essay

Dr Sam Thomas

castles, ruined abbeys, and fine pictures. (WATAM 42) According to Roderick Nash the
subjugation of wilderness was the chief source of pioneer pride, (WATAM 42) and to carry
this out wilderness was necessary, hence the westward urge. (WATAM 43) The recession of
the frontier therefore had a significant impact on perceptions of the wilderness and the
animals within. Bess is guilty of civilising her environment to an extent by keeping wild birds
as pets, enticing them with food. Thoreau does the same, domesticating them further by
calling these birds his hens and chickens. (W 147) Tom Sawyer, after waking up and
admiring the scenery of his camp, realises that the uninhabited (TS 68) island is actually
home to countless animals. Telling a ladybug to fly away home, Tom seems to display a
sense of pride in having practised upon its simplicity. (TS 71) Ostensibly a display of
mischief and a human tendency to master nature, it is also possible to read here a parallel
between the discovery of America and the exploitation of its native inhabitants. Afterwards,
the young boys also exercise a certain amount of ecological irresponsibility by taking as
many as fifty to sixty turtle eggs from each hole. Humanitys effect on even the remotest
landscapes are evident in Into the Wild, with Chris McCandless pure wilderness lifestyle
seeming somewhat diminished when considering that his death took place in an abandoned
bus.
In addition to pioneering pride, the dangers associated with the wilderness are
arguably another factor in the complex American relationship of repulsion and attraction to
nature. Although largely downplayed in Walden, in The Maine Woods Thoreau describes a
force in nature not bound to be kind to man.8 The enjoyment of Sawyers island adventure is
somewhat dampened by a violent thunderstorm, which illuminates the crashing trees and
roaring river and appears to offer the children a moment of humility. Furthermore, when lost
in its depths, McDougals cave eventually overtakes Injun Joe as a source of dread in Toms
mind, becoming a villain in itself: He felt willing to risk Injun Joe and all other terrors. (TS
147) Injun Joes fate is also largely a result of the wilderness unforgiving nature and its
undiscriminating godlike powers of give and take.
The occasional brutality of the wilderness lends itself to usage as a metaphor for
human environments and behaviours. Thoreaus portrayal of a war between two ant colonies
is both graphic and heavily anthropomorphised, clearly serving to highlight humanitys own
8 Henry David Thoreau in The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau, The Maine Woods ed Paul
Theroux (New Jersey: Princteon University Press, 2004) 70

Joshua IstedAmerican Fiction 1st Formative Essay

Dr Sam Thomas

violent conquests. Thoreau also mirrors this type of analysis by describing the villagers of
Concord as animals in their native habitat, comparing townsmen to prairie dogs. (W 109)
The dehumanisation of man and the humanisation of nature are each common devices in a
wealth of American fiction, highlighting the intrinsic connection between the two and
blurring the boundaries between wilderness and civilisation.
It can be said that the physical landscape of America was the raw material (WATAM xi) of
its civilisation. Once seen as an obstacle, after being reduced by human expansionist instincts,
the remaining wilderness has found a new place in American culture and is seemingly in
danger of being loved to death (WATAM xi) as people seek what Thoreau calls the tonic of
wildness. The American relationship with nature is often fleeting, however, and civilisation
seems to follow wherever people travel. In Walden, many fragments betray an inherent flaw
with one civilised mans attempts to recapture a pure wilderness lifestyle. The way in which
Thoreaus experiment is meticulously recorded raises questions in itself about the legitimacy
of the experience he seems to be seeking, without even considering his frequent guests and
trips into Concord. By definition, written accounts of men who completely broke ties with
civilisation are practically non-existent. (WATAM 43) Consequently, despite its increasing
tourist traffic, the wilderness remains an elusive place in the American imagination.

Joshua IstedAmerican Fiction 1st Formative Essay

Dr Sam Thomas

Bibliography
Primary Sources
Grey, Zane. Riders of the Purple Sage, (Maryland: Arc Manor Publishers, 2008).
Krakauer Jon. Into the Wild, (New York: Villard Books, 1996).
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden, (New York: Dover Publications Inc, 1995).
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, (Hertfordshire:
Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1992).
Secondary Sources
Nash, Roderick Frazier. Wilderness and the American Mind, 4th Edition (Yale: Yale
University Press, 2001).