Mary Oliver
Loren Eiseley
After reading The Judgement of the Birds in preparation for Tuesday's discussion, I noticed various connections to the Mary Oliver poem "Entering the Kingdom" that I had to reflect upon for my final blog. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Eiseley's work. His insights on the interconnectedness between humans and nature are noteworthy as he depicts the crow's perspective of humans. Quotes like "I saw the judgment upon life, and that it was not passed by men" display how human perspective and opinion should not be the only consideration on this planet. Other organisms, like crows, deserve a say in the functioning of nature.
Eiseley leaves with the fact of spreading awareness of how humans have negatively impacted the world and a warning to establish a balance between us and nature, or else we might regret it in the future. This dark tone written within the text uses crows to send this message to the audience. I believe crows are used because we naturally associate crows with death and sorrow. Both describe crows as birds that "Avoid humanity," as Oliver expresses, "They know me for what I am." because crows have a particular dislike for people. Crows are seen as distant creatures that are linked with their own species. Although crows differ significantly from humans, their collectiveness and resentfulness against other species mirrors human behavior.
Moving on, Eiseley uses crows to set a dark theme and tone. Mary Oliver emulates the use of crows in her short poem "Entering the Kingdom." In this piece, she expresses the point of view of a crow staring down at herself. "Possibly dangerous," she states about how crows look on humans. Crows are envisioned to be the judges of human behavior in both texts. Each author has a pessimistic standpoint on human activities impacting the performance and essence of nature. Oliver believes that people should "...learn something by being nothing," and Eiseley signifies that people "...tend to take it [nature] for granted." Their views on humans determining the fate of nature ring loudly as the authors believe that human activity will ultimately cause the end of everything.
Furthermore, I enjoyed how each describes the crows in abundance that tend to settle high in the trees to establish distance from people. Both works recognize large groups of crows equating to a "kingdom," which I found interesting because we associate many of one entity with having lots of power. In both readings, the crows have more influence than the humans. I think the term "kingdom" is used to resemble a religious sanctuary. Kingdoms often refer to a palace or a place of religious significance, which could imply that Oliver and Eiseley perceived nature as a spiritual form. Eiseley states that nature is "a commonplace of all religious thought," which means that spending time in nature can allow you to experience religious renewal.
Lastly, as writers, Mary Oliver and Loren Eiseley also have many likes. Not only does their writing about crows and human impact align, but both writers strived to convert their everyday observations into purpose. Mary Oliver was known for sharing her mundane nature experiences with the world. To compare, Eiseley was the same way as he believed that nature could be anywhere, even in New York. He spotted birds right outside of the window sill of his home and took appreciation for a spider making her web along a lamp post. Both authors display the beauty of nature in the simplest terms. This theme of finding beauty in nature anywhere from anything sends a thought-provoking idea to the audience. Both want the audience to be kind to nature and relish the beauty of the little things that nature has to offer.
To conclude my reflection on the two authors and my time in Treks & Texts, I learned to truly, deeply understand nature and appreciate everything for its worth. We as people need to consider the planet a separate entity and take care of nature as much as nature takes care of us. We all have a role on this Earth and a mission to be empathic and interconnected to live in great harmony.
"The wilderness in the hope of learning of great events, or plans in store for him, that will resuscitate his waning taste for life" ~ Loren Eiseley, The Judgement of Birds
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