Divisible Yet Indivisible

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Coming from Long Island, New York I have been exposed to one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the world (unbiased of course). NYC shares many characteristics that Cronon describes Chicago to have that makes Chicago successful because both are located in central areas, surrounding bodies of water, and serve as central hubs that have easy access for transportation and natural resources. As many real estate moguls will tell you, location is key when choosing a place to live. The same goes for developing a successful city. Focusing on the history of Chicago and the arguments surrounding it, the city parallels with Turners understanding of the Western Frontier. By understanding the relationships of nature in Chicago, we can begin to understand the development of the west. In Eli’s post he accurately describes how Chicago served as a gateway to the west and through Cronon illustrates how Chicago came about as a result of the natural boundaries.

 

The most powerful part of the prologue of Cronon’s “Cloud over Chicago” was his focus both on the divisible and indivisible aspects of nature versus city. Beginning with a personal narrative of his first experiences of Chicago, he focuses on the grey smog, dense smell and awe that he felt as he passed through the city. Cronon emphasizes a lot on the descriptions of the city and he battles with the idea of natural versus unnatural. As an devoted environmentalist Cronon professes his initial dislike for the city of Chicago and how it was an unnatural place that clogged the rural west and deprived it of its natural beauty. However, Cronon comes to realize as he digs deeper into the history of Chicago and the surrounding area that his idea of natural farmlands and rural west had too been altered by the human hand. This brings me back to concentrating on Cronon’s dilemma with trying to separate farms and cities but realizing that there is greater interdependence then initially realized. A  quote that  portrayed Cronon’s struggle as an environmentalist and a realist is, “The boundary between natural and unnatural shades almost imperceptibly into the boundary between nonhuman and human, with wilderness and the city seeming to lie at opposite poles-the one pristine and unfilled, the other corrupt and unredeemed”(8). Many people and environmentalists believe this idea of the evils of the city in Cronon’s description, and analysis of Chicago he exposes an even greater relationship between humans and the world.

Closing the prologue Cronon faces the argument of city and nature. How we perceive Chicago in terms of nature is how we will be able to face the future of mankind, “whether we wish to ‘control’ nature or ‘preserve’ it- we unconsciously affirm our belief that we ourselves are unnatural. Nature is the place where we are not” (18). In saying this, It is undeniable that Chicago was able to succeed because of its natural elements that are particularly welcoming to the foundations of civilization. Chicago as a hub is important for the expansion of the west and our continuing development of understanding the Western Frontier.