Part One: The Received Wilderness Idea<\/p>\n
The wilderness, as defined by Robert Marshall in his 1930 essay entitled \u201cThe Problem of the Wilderness,\u201d is an area without permanent inhabitants, impossible to cross by mechanical means, and so vast that a person attempting to cross it must sleep out.\u00a0 In short, the wilderness is an escape from civilization.\u00a0 The wilderness offers man a setting in which he may appease his appetite for adventure, a desire that Marshall believes is very strong in the majority of mankind.\u00a0 It extends an opportunity for independence and exploration that does not exist in the midst of civilization.\u00a0 The wilderness allows humans to test both their physical limits and their self-sufficiency, while also offering time for personal and insightful thought. \u00a0In the wilderness, every one of the senses is occupied.\u00a0 Unlike a work of art or a composition of music, the wilderness appeals to all the senses at once.\u00a0 The dynamic experience offered by the wilderness is completely encompassing.\u00a0 When out in the wilderness, sufficiently distanced from human civilization, one cannot help but be enveloped by its beauty and enormity.<\/p>\n
Because of this encompassing aspect of nature, according to John Muir in his 1901 essay labeled \u201cOur National Parks,\u201d the wilderness serves as a fountain of life for many people.\u00a0 The wilderness is a necessity, without which many individuals would not be able to survive the monotony of everyday life.\u00a0 Muir asserts that a trip to the wilderness results in an \u201cawakening from\u2026the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury (48).\u201d\u00a0 Venturing into the wilderness is like going home; it is a return to one\u2019s roots.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the vast expanse of wilderness that originally existed in North America is quickly diminishing as the land is altered by human civilization.\u00a0 With each expansion of human civilization, forests are cut, prairies are ploughed, and the wilderness is depleted.\u00a0 Without attention to and protection of the remaining wilderness, mankind will soon have no repose from the ties of civilization.<\/p>\n
The United States government recognized the need to preserve areas of wilderness and Congress responded by passing \u201cThe Wilderness Act of 1964.\u201d\u00a0 In this act, the government defined the wilderness as a place where the earth and the life that inhabits it are not organized according to the desires of man.\u00a0 Instead, nature remains in its original form.\u00a0 The wilderness is not a place that man calls home, but a place for him to visit.\u00a0 The government stipulates that man\u2019s interaction with the wilderness should be largely unnoticeable.\u00a0 This will allow posterity to enjoy the wilderness as it stands now.\u00a0 The character of the wilderness must remain its own in order to ensure that it offers solitude and a primitive appeal to visitors now and forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Part One: The Received Wilderness Idea The wilderness, as defined by Robert Marshall in his 1930 essay entitled \u201cThe Problem of the Wilderness,\u201d is an area without permanent inhabitants, impossible to cross by mechanical means, and so vast that a person attempting to cross it must sleep out.\u00a0 In short, the wilderness is an escape … <\/p>\n