A Land Remembered Journal

A Land Remembered

By Patrick D. Smith

Briefly describe the character and their role in the novel.

http://www.sundogbooks.com/book/9781561642304

In the beginning of the novel, Tobias is a thirty-year-old man who had been living in the eastern Florida shrub for five years. Throughout Tobias’s journey in the book, he showed true dedication to his wife Emma and son Zech. At many times, especially in the beginning, he was unsure if they would survive. At times his family had little food, however with time Tobias learned through trial and error how to make a living. Tobias shows throughout the book how hardworking he truly is. He never gave up in the fight to make money and provide for his family. He was the sole financial provider and he knew he had to do something to keep his family alive. Tobias also shows unconditional love to Emma and Zech and always made sure they were okay and taken care of. 

How does the character relate to their environment and the natural world?
In the beginning, Tobias was severely struggling to survive. Tobias uses all of the resources in the environment necessary to survive and provide for his family. He essentially is fully embraced in the environment. The family uses many plants and other edible things in the environment to eat, Tobias gathers cows and sells them, and he also grows orange trees. Even though he uses the resources necessary in the environment to survive, he shows respect for the land and natural world that surrounds him.

https://web.duke.edu/nicholas/bio217/ked13/freshwater.html

Where does the character feel a sense of place (to what place do they feel an emotional attachment) and why?

I think Tobias feels a strong sense of place within the wilderness where his home is and where he works very hard to provide for his family.  I see Tobias as being protective of the land. He enjoys all of the beautiful things it has to offer such as the custard-apple forest and he would probably be completely devastated if he found out that Zech had destroyed it years later. He wanted the land to be shared and enjoyed by everyone and didn’t quite seem to understand why everyone wanted to build bigger and better things. He seemed to be content with his small cabin in the wilderness. The strongest sense of place for Tobias is shown when he goes to the orange trees multiple times just to sit and relax, even in the freezing cold. This shows that he feels relaxed when he is with nature, as well as, protective of it. 

What legacy did the character leave behind for the next generation?

http://www.wallpaperhere.com/Heart_In_The_Wild_2300

I believe Tobias taught Zech many life lessons and morals that allowed for the next generation to see what a wonderful and hardworking man Tobias was. Tobias was the first man within the family to make a good amount of money; this allowed the other generations to live a life with less financial stress and hardship. He also taught Zech how to survive in the wild, which was passed down to Sol. Tobias left the business of the cows and the abundance of orange trees behind, which allowed the family to become wealthier. His legacy was the sweat and tears, as well as, the hardworking abilities and the never give up mentality that generations to come should be proud of.

Why did you select this character and how do you relate to them?
I chose Tobias because he was the heart of the family, even after he passed away. He was the rock that kept the family working. Tobias did everything in his power to provide and protect his family. He never gave up the fight even after he would fail. I feel like these are wonderful characteristics in a father and husband that I respect dearly.

Grunwald Journal

Endgame

Quotations by Michael Grunwald

“When our distant descendants move into the Fourth Millennium, I hope it will be remembered that this generation, at the beginning of the Third Millennium, put aside partisanship, narrow self-interest and short-term thinking by saving the Everglades (Grunwald 79).”

http://www.evergladesfoundation.org

After reading this excerpt, I couldn’t help but think why did the fight to save the Everglades have to be so political and surrounded around money. It’s sad that the main focus of some politicians did not solely focus on the nature and animals being saved and preserved. In my opinion, saving the Everglades should not have taken so much time and effort; it should have been a simple decision. The option of leaving the Everglades left to dry up and building an airport should not have been an option. I feel like since I live so close to the Everglades it is something that I hold dear to my heart, something that is so unique and beautiful. It hurts to think that the Everglades could have been a thing of the past. Without the help of so many environmental activists and some politicians, my future children would not have been able to see this wonderful thing that nature has to offer. After reading this excerpt, I have developed more of an emotional tie to the Everglades that I did not have before.

“Yes, restoring the Everglades would preserve aquifers and promote ecotourism, but Graham really wanted to restore the Everglades because it was singular, because it distinguished south Florida from other sprawling concatenations of tract homes, strip malls, CVS, and KFC (Grunwald 99).”

http://ushistoryimages.com/seminole-tribe.shtm

The thing that sticks out to me most in this quote is the word singular. There is nothing else like the Everglades; no place in the entire world resembles the Everglades. With that being said, I cannot contemplate why there was so much debate about whether or not to better restore and preserve the Everglades. It makes me think how twisted and demented the world we live in is. It has all contributed to greed and people wanting to make money. I can’t help but think about all the beautiful and majestic animals that live in the Everglades. Their homes would have potentially been destroyed, leaving them homeless. This quote makes me think about the book A Land to Remember, when Toby became so angry with Sol for destroying the land and building a farm on it. Sol was concerned about the money; Toby was concerned about the animals. I feel as if America’s priorities are out of order, somewhat like Sol when he became extremely concentrated on making money, nothing else mattered to him. America needs to have mindset of Toby, protecting the land not only helps the animals, but humans as well. Thankfully the Everglades are now protected and there will never be strip malls and homes that will destroy it.

“Everglades restoration could set an international standard for sustainable development. It could prove that man and nature could co-exist in peace (Grunwald 101).” 

http://www.trulygraphics.com/tg/nature/page/8/

I honestly wish I could agree with this statement. I think it is absolutely wonderful that the restoration of the Everglades became a priority, however I do not believe that man and nature will ever be able to co-exist in peace again. I believe I feel this way because I have never lived in a time where nature and preserving the land was a priority to the general society. People are so concerned about making money and creating bigger and better things that the love and respect for nature is throw away. It would be wonderful if the people could live in peace with nature but they must have respect for it, and I do not believe that there is. People will only begin to realize that peace with nature is necessary when they begin to directly be affected by the repercussions. The restoration of the Everglades is an amazing thing and I do want to take light away from that, however the fight to save the Everglades shows that it will never be easy to reach that peace that is necessary to reach sustainability.

 

Douglas Journal

The Nature of the Everglades

Quotations by Marjory Stoneman Douglas

“Nothing anywhere else is like them: their vast glittering openness, wider than the enormous visible round of the horizon, the racing free saltness and sweetness of their massive winds, under the dazzling blue heights of space (Douglas 104).”

http://www.saintpetersblog.com/archives/146804

I have never physically seen the Everglades, however this sentence really allows me to have a vivid picture in my mind. Throughout this whole excerpt, Marjory Douglas allowed me to feel like I was at the Everglades, experiencing everything if I were to be there. I can tell, especially with this quote, that Douglas has a strong sense of place with the Everglades. The respect and emotion that is represented in this sentence is fascinating to me. The way Douglas states, nothing anywhere else is like them, shows that this is a place that is dear to her heart. The Everglades appear to be extremely unique in nature. Even though this is her opinion, I can relate to how she feels connected with nature. For me, the feeling of seeing a beautiful sunset on the beach is a feeling unique to the sight of it. This sentence also allows me to think how I take nature, or even being able to see, for granted. If I was not able to sit back and enjoy all of the fascinating things nature has to offer, I would be very upset. From now on I am going to make it a point to embrace nature more often.

“Where the pines are thin, the Indians found their first source of life. There grow foot-tall, ferny green cycads, plants older than this rock, with yellow and orange cones for flowers and great thick roots (Douglas 138).”

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/s/so003.html

The root that is described in this quote is sifted to flour to make a thick watery gruel called “sofkee” that the Indians ate. Last semester, I had to do a presentation on Native Americans so I learned a lot about them. I really enjoy how Douglas states that this was the first source of life for the Indians. This is so powerful to me; the way the Indians survived, using the resources in the wilderness was a challenging experience. Their fight to survive in the wilderness shows strength and courage for the Indians and the sofkee represents the beginning of their survival and life on earth. The sofkee was a way for survival that the Indians cherished and the Everglades essentially provided them with this. The Florida Everglades show years and years of history that makes it special.

“Here in the cypress pools- but for that matter, everywhere in the watery Glades, from lake to sea- lives the Glades’ first citizen, the otter (Douglas 144).”

http://sunnyscope.com/5-critters-florida-everglades/

I loved the section in this excerpt about all of the animals and creatures that encompass the Florida Everglades because I have an emotional attachment to all animals. I picked this quote because the otter was the first citizen of the Everglades. The otter is a wonderful element to the Florida Everglades. The otter enjoys being around all of the alligators and shows a true enjoyment out of living in the Everglades. Just like the otter, many animals call the Everglades their home. The numerous animals described, big and small, are able to enjoy a preserved environment where they can thrive and live in complete peace. As America grows in population, the animals are losing their precious homes. It gives me a peace of mind that the animals in the Everglades have a place to call home.

Orr Journal

Love It or Lose It: The Coming Biophilia Revolution

Quotations by David Orr

“Compared with earlier cultures, our distinction lies in the fact that technology now allows us to move much further toward total domination of nature than ever before” (Orr 188)

Photo created by Marcus Jansen

The word domination in this sentence sticks out to me. I think what Orr means by domination, is the fact that we as humans have the capability to destroy the nature that surrounds us. I would lie if I said all technology is a bad thing. I believe in many ways technology is doing wonderful things, however with the advancement of genetic engineering and nanotechnologies, we are in a way manipulating and changing the course of nature in a negative light. Earlier cultures seemed not to dominate nature, but rather, be one with the nature that they surrounded themselves with. I feel like we must adopt the ways of earlier cultures to create an increased sense of biophilia to create a world where nature can flourish. 

“Environmental free riders benefit from others’ willingness to fight for the clean are they breathe, the clean water they drink, the preservation of biological diversity that sustains them, and the conservation of the soil that feeds them” (Orr 191)

Photo found in GOOGLE images

In complete honesty, I would have to consider myself an environmental free rider. I do not do nearly as much as I could to fight for the many things that I take for granted. Reading this excerpt makes me feel empowered to do more to preserve the earth and land that I take for granted. I believe many people have biophobia because they are fearful of the truth. I agree that it is not okay that the work to protect the earth is unfairly distributed. In some ways I believe that sometimes I try not to think about all the devastating things that are destroying the earth because I am fearful of what will happen. There is a difference in not liking nature and not respecting nature. Some people just don’t enjoy exploring nature and viewing all the things it has to offer, in my opinion that is okay. However, it is not okay for people to disrespect and destroy the things that nature gives its people. 

 

“We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well- for we will not fight to save what we do not love” (Orr 197)

Photo found by GOOGLE images

Out of this entire section written by Orr, this is my favorite quote. It is so powerful and speaks volumes about what is happening and what needs to be changed. More people need to feel emotionally connected with nature. Effort must be put forth for that emotional bond to be created. Just like the excerpt states, we depend on nature more then we will ever know. So many things that we depend on, contribute to our survival and well-being.  This statement makes me think of the first time I saw mountains. Being born in Florida, seeing the mountains for the first time was absolutely fascinating. Ever since then, I have felt more connected with nature. Feeling emotionally connected with nature will cause the love that is needed to help conserve the land.  We will only fight when we begin to love.

Leopold Journal

Photo found from GOOGLE images

The Land Ethic 

Quotations by Aldo Leopold

“A land ethic changes the role of the Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it” (Leopold 60)

When I think of land ethic, I think of mutual respect for the land I live in. Many humans treat the land as if it will restore itself. The land needs to be treated in a way that will preserve it for many years to come. It seems as if many people, including myself at times, take the land they live in that provides so many joys and gifts, for granted. This statement is small but very powerful. Humans treat the land like they are the ruler. If people changed their view to be more surrounded around the fact that what they do will affect themselves, as well as generations to come, the world would have a land ethic. If people felt connected to nature and felt they were equal not superior to the land they live on, the world would be a better place.

“Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land. Despite nearly a century of propaganda, conservation still proceeds at a snails pace” (Leopold 62)

Photo found in GOOGLE images

I believe conservation is at a snails pace for two reasons, money and lack of education. Just like Leopold states, the farmers, as well as the government will not do anything unless it is profitable. Its sad that many reasons that govern conservation are because of greed. Long-term consequences are unheard of because the focus is on the profit. Lack of education is another factor that is slowing down efforts to conserve. Lack of education and misleading information causes people to think we are doing what is needed to protect the world we live in and the resources we use. If people were properly educated with how to conserve the land, conservation would pick up speed. Viewing conservation as a state of harmony also means viewing and treating the land with respect. If more people viewed land as something in need of protecting, it could change the way we treat the land we live on. 

“It is inconceivable to me that an ethical relation to land can exist without love, respect, and admiration for land, and a high regard for its value” (Leopold 75)

Photo found from GOOGLE images

In my opinion, I believe consciousness of land is something society as a whole is severely lacking. People have a lot of things to concentrate on in their busy schedules of work, school, family, and so on. I have always wondered if the way you are brought up matters how you feel about nature as an adult. Some children are taught to embrace nature, play in the dirt, and look for bugs. Some children are inside all day watching TV and playing video games. I definitely think that a person’s love for nature is impacted by the way they have been taught to view it from a young age. Simply put just like the statement, people need to view the land with a high value and love for any change to occur. I know for sure that my future children will be connected to nature in as many ways as possible.