Sandra Batres

For The Urban Dweller

            As New Yorkers accustomed to living our lives in a routine surrounded by city dwelling we tend to forget our need for nature. Our city, to be fair, has tried to incorporate a sense of nature in our lives, providing us with alternatives—green spaces that serve to shine some much needed green on our concrete jungle. But are these pieces of nature enough for us to experience a sense of enlightenment, faith, rebirth, and perhaps even a sense of escape? Is our “nature”, as city dwellers, the concrete that surrounds us, the buildings, cars, subways and scattered pockets of green? Or am I thinking too narrowly?  Ralph Waldo Emerson would perhaps argue that these pockets of green are not enough for humans and in particular the human soul to transcend to a higher level— to take in the vastness of it all and grow spiritually. Must a person truly, “go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society”, in order to achieve this sense of natural divinity, higher understanding and confidence in self?

In his essay “Nature”, Emerson expresses his desire for people to experience a much required retreat from society. This is to be done in order to appreciate nature and through it gain understanding about ourselves. It is through nature that we find “god” or a divine like source and beauty; the ability to think freely and without influence. Emerson states,

In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always a child. In the woods, is perpetual youth. Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign, a perennial festival is dressed, and the guest sees not how he should tire of them in a thousand years. In the woods, we return to reason and faith.

It is in the solitude of the woods that we are able to see clearly, be reborn into something new, with clear eyes and an unpolluted mind. I agree that we must learn to reflect and see things with our own eyes, experience nature and reflect on the nature of our existence. So while our tiny havens serve to not only beautify our city and provide neighborhoods with plant life and shade, from a “spiritual” perspective they may not be enough. The nature, in our small green spaces is there, however it is a limited and “controlled” version of nature surrounded by an entire city, which some might argue defeats the point.

As a New Yorker that is at times jaded with the city, I must make the case that it would be difficult for many of us to find the time to retreat into the wilderness. As a social human being, I must make the case that it would be difficult to retreat from society. Humans are by nature social creatures, we learn from each other, rely on each other and work best together. I understand the need to elevate oneself and appreciate alone the wonder of it all, but it is through the shared experiences of a community that we grow. By community, I mean those around us, those we work with, friends, family and neighbors. Perhaps this is why as communities we have created such green spaces, though tiny pockets of green, we have built them together because we understand the importance of nature in our lives. We have carved from concrete our nature, though not perfect, to many of us they are an escape, a source of inspiration and a faith in the power of community.

Among the cascade of extended and deep vocabulary, within both Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson and The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois, that’ll have you frantically Google searching every third word to actually be able to completely understand what you’re reading, you’ll find a meaning. This meaning is quite apparent as between all the brilliant words lies a valid point, whether that be Emerson telling us to become one with the nature he so adores obsessively or Du Bois’s call for a rally to change amongst his fellow “problems”. This is the easy way out. The way to be able to raise your hand and answer the question we already had the answer to. You have to look deeper to find the needle within the literary haystack thrown at you by two prolific writers.

It began with Emerson whose fascination with transcendentalism in Nature almost distracts you entirely away from the reading itself and makes you ask yourself the question, “How high was this man while writing this?”. Emerson states in his introduction that, “…all which Philosophy distinguishes as the NOT ME, that is, both nature and art, all other men and my own body, must be ranked under this name, NATURE.”, which is completely correct as philosophers believe that nature is everything that exists externally away from one’s self. Emerson believes that we appreciate nature in our youth because our lack of understanding as children leads us to being both vexed and fascinated about simple things such as stars. We lose this fascination after maturing and understanding what we’re witnessing unless the occurrence is rare as stated when Emerson writes, “If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown!” Even Plato, millennia ago, recognized the curiosity of children that allows them to have such a deep interest in things they don’t understand like children’s stories such as when he said “Don’t you realize that we start by telling children stories which are, by and large, untrue, though they contain elements of the truth?” (Republic, Plato, pg. 49) After opening up to us, Emerson reaches his main point: we’re all blind to true “nature” as he says “few adult persons can see nature.” According to him, barely any of us understand nature as we haven’t ever fully immersed ourselves inside of it to figure out its complexities and the only people that understand nature are poets. It’s because unlike the farmer who seeks to reap the benefits of nature for his worldly gains, the poets look beyond the physical and transcend the boundary that exists between Soul and Nature, later becoming one with it entirely. This understanding leads Emerson to say that the poets actually own the land and no “warranty-deeds” can take that away from them. Finding the vision of Emerson’s true “nature” is all the freedom that a could ever want.

Completely on the other side of the spectrum is Du Bois with The Souls of Black Folk. While Emerson called for people to find an understanding of nature to become one with it, Du Bois would rather his people to focus on themselves, their souls, to achieve the freedom that they so strongly desire. He describes his fellow blacks as “A people thus handicapped ought not to be asked to race with the world, but rather allowed to give all its time and thought to its own social problems.” Du Bois’s people don’t have TIME to be searching to “nature” for the answer to their issues as their issues are real and in dire need of a solution. Although the similarities between Du Bois and Emerson are few and far between, one major similarity is that they want people to see not with their eyes, but with their souls! Du Bois argues that black people don’t look past the obvious as they believed “The ideal of liberty demanded for its attainment powerful means, and these the Fifteenth Amendment gave him.”, but he later argues that just because they lawfully gained freedom doesn’t mean that they’re actually free to live normally such as the introduction of the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, voter fraud, etc. This blindness is what Du Bois believes holds black people back and he calls for the unification of his people by saying, “Work, culture, liberty,—all these we need, not singly but together, not successively but together, each growing and aiding each, and all striving toward that vaster ideal that swims before the Negro people, the ideal of human brotherhood, gained through the unifying ideal of Race”. Instead of the one by one race to success, a unified approach that allows them to finally see with their souls.

In W.E.B Du Bois’s Souls of Black Folks, he speaks about “the longing to attain self-conscious manhood”, the longing to remain himself, if any of his thoughts are actually his own. Wanting a balance between being American and African, learning and improving from being both. Not wanting to disassociate himself and wipe any of his identity and finding a balance. In a world where being Black means being a problem, finding your voice and taking the opportunities that were given generously to Whites and “telling the wonderful tales that swam in my head.” His thoughts are reflecting from being in a world where Blacks had no rights and weren’t given the same opportunities. They were told to be “content” on being servants, although they had no rights, no education and couldn’t write or vote, to be happy they were cooking and serving as “half-men.” He reflected on a “double conscious” where his vision was going passed a “veil” where he saw himself through the eyes of the rest of the world. Being Black and competing in a world where the others already had money, savings, and land. The need to vote meant saving themselves as a race and preventing a “second slavery.”

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature, Emerson explores thoughts that have been compromised by man. He says that we as society have been brought up to think in a certain way and to think of God. Our thoughts have been made for us and by others. There is no explanation for creation that is correct because each religion and theory has made people hate the other. He gives an example of three farms being owned by three different people but someone who doesn’t own any of the land can see their land as something totally different. This poet sees farther beyond the land and to that, there is no price anyone can pay. Emerson questions “why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe?” In a world where the world is consistently changing and evolving why shouldn’t our thoughts also evolve.

W.E.B Du Bois and Ralph Waldo Emerson both touch on the concept of finding your identity and being self-conscious. For Emerson, finding this self-consciousness is being in-touch with nature and removing yourself from things given by men. The best answer will be simple and “practical.” The world-sun, stars, air-was given to us to unite with the universe. Only some people can see nature for what it is and find its meaning. For Du Bois this self-consciousness is given to one when he starts to remove the negative thoughts that society has placed on race. The “veil” he speaks of is covering his sight and the negativity associated to his race is placed on him. He sees the veil through the experiences he endured like when he was in schools and encouraged to exchanged cards and a girl in his class refused his card with no reason at all. He now saw himself through her eyes and realized that he was different, that he had a veil on him that was put up by society. Now in his writing he encourages others to step within this veil and find their identity, their voice, and to separate himself from the views of others. In both essays, separating yourself from what society has instilled on the world is whats important. To be present and not just living and conforming to the rules. Agreeing and disagreeing from the rules and figuring out what is natural and correct and not just ideas passed on from generations.

Marisol Manica

Professor Allred

Du Bois author of “The Souls of Black Folk,” focuses on writing about how humans see one another through other eyes. He goes on to say the progress that has happened in the 20th century and what are the obstacles hindering that process from happening.He focuses on events of racial prejudice and how that separates black people from white people. He constantly talks about this veil that he is holding up. In the text that we read, we conclude how the problems in the 20th century cause double consciousness. Black people are forced to see themselves as one way and deal with how society sees them. For example, Du Bois explains how white folk do not know to approach black people, they make them feel like a different breed or something so delicate it will break with one touch. Du Bois mentions how one person said, “I know an excellent colored man in my town;” He then goes on to explain that he does not know how to answer to those statements. What can you say? he feels like the problem. Imagine how it feels like with everyone else. The confusion and chaos that happen because of how black people feel they need to present themselves in the community. It is a feeling of not fitting in, of not being able to be yourself because society has another image of you. The feeling of walking around on the street and thinking people are automatically going to treat you different because they do not know what to say to you.  A feeling that you have two different personalities one accepted by society and another one hidden away.

Du Bois does a good job in explaining the veil to the reader, the division of black and white men. He starts off by talking about his experience. On the day of which everyone was exchanging cards in school until one white girl decided to reject his card. That was when he realized he was different. He goes onto to explain how even though they had freedom, to the people of color it was not freedom but rather disappointment. There was no freedom yet. They were still struggling they were black men and women born into America trying to deal with being equal in society. The confusion that the white people had because they themselves did not know to treat them. They were going through problems they were black born in America. Du Bois used the term half men, which struck me as a powerful word. Half men referring to a black civilian of color but born in America. In other words he had rights but not all the rights he still had to serve and cook and not aspire for higher achievements. He ends with saying he hopes people understand his and other experience.

Emerson in his essay of “Nature” takes a different spin, he starts by asking the reader questions. Not just one question but questions followed by another question, followed by others. His tone sounds kind of annoyed with the universe, mostly annoyed at people around the world. He points out that all of us trust what society says, that whatever their answer is has been drilled into our minds and we are satisfied with it.Emerson then goes onto explain his feelings about nature. He gives the reader a definition of nature, In the common sense, refers to essences unchanged by man; space, the air, the river, the leaf.” I see Emerson describing nature as untouchable. As something that society has not ruined, something that society does not have all the answers too. He believes one must go into solitude to fully understood the beauty of nature. Emerson basically is saying you cannot understand all the nature has to offer in a city where you are being controlled and its always busy. He explains what natures give to the world,”The stars awaken a certain reverence, because though always present, they are inaccessible; but all natural objects make a kindred impression,” He takes a while to explain each creation of nature and how perfect it is. From the stars to the sun to the flowers. He speaks to his audience by relating what he went through. He relates nature as the god, as a way to find answers and a direction of path. People have a responsibility to society a discipline to do what they are told, but in nature its you finding your path. He even says he is a part or particle of god.

These two texts we have read are completely different from one another but at the same time similar. Du Bois is the acceptance of an African American into society. The idea that their freedom is not just a word thrown around but an actual reality. Du Bois, wants everyone to understand the sadness and disappointments him and his people went through because of white folk. He like Emerson have similar views of society. They both seem to not be fond of it. While Du Bois expresses how there are two identities he has to go through Emerson explains how nature is god and one can align with the universe through nature. Emerson is a big believer that society has everything planned out for people but if you go to nature there is so much more it has to offer. So much more things that we take for granted. The take away i am getting is both authors seems to want to derive away from society. While they both have different problems they deal with the main problem arising is society and its norms. Du Bois explains his experience while Emerson is more metaphorical in his essay. Both authors are trying to show the reader more.