Pine Tree Tops (33), Two Fawns That Didn't See The Light This Spring (58), For The Children (86)
In the poem Pine Tree Tops, Snyder is describing what I would say as an almost ideal way for the world to work. It seems as if it is the winter time and it is in a large forest covered in a layer of snow. There are rabbit and deer tracks along with minimal human interaction. It seems as if the sound of boots should be all humans have as an impact on the environment, sound not large cities and pollution. Snyder was using this small scene in a winter wonder land as a metaphor for the entire planet where the life of humans does not negatively impact the environment.
In the poem Two Fawns That Didn't See The Light This Spring, Snyder is comparing and contrasting two situations one where human impact on the environment is what the human needs to survive, and one where the same impact was done for no reason. In the first it describe and man who lived in a tipi who went hunting and killed what he thought was a buck, but turned out to me a fawn and its mother. In the second a car hits a fawn and its mother. The man in the tipi was trying to help the environment he lived in a shelter that left nothing behind when he is gone and takes up very few resources to make. The one in the car was the exact opposite, the had a car that took many materials to make and it harms the environment at the same time. The man in the tipi was doing what he needed to survive but the one in the car really did not have a reason to have a car. The man in the tipi used the meat from his mistake and made the best out of the situation, while the others were most likely left to rot.
In the poem For The Children, every thing about that the poem is describing something for the future, the children. The poem is saying we need to make peace. I am not sure if this is peace with one another or make peace with the land so that we will have it for ever. Either way peace will help the world last longer, last longer than beyond the next century. Snyder's main message is we need to save the world for tomorrow.
I agree with your analysis of "For the Children," because I also feel that Gary Snyder is encouraging humans to preserve the world for the future generations. Snyder, at the end of this poem, gives the reader advice in relation to saving the environment and that is to become a more unified community, embrace nature, and learn to conserve resources.
ReplyDeleteI thought your analysis of "Two Fawns That Didn't See The Light This Spring," was very enlightening for I did not quite have a grasp on the meaning and your explanation really helped me understand the poem.
I also agree with your analysis of "Pine Tree Tops," for Snyder's purpose of writing the poem was to encourage humans to not be so wasteful and also have more appreciation for our environment.