Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Nature of Tom Sawyer's World

On your blog answer the following: Have we encountered sublime nature in Tom Sawyer yet? If so, where and how does it function? Does the sublime come and go or is it ever-present? How do we know when we've switched from a pastoral dominated scene to one ruled by the sublime? Is that question even valid?

At the moment, it seems that while the question may be relevant in the future, the perplexity of sublime vs. pastoral nature in Tom Sawyer is not a key point to focus on. That is however, only based on where I am in the book. It seems, that if nature were to take on a more sublime form, it would not have the same meaning to Tom, and he would not have the same connection to it. That is not to say, that he would find increased reverence for the town. As of now, the nature we have seen is all pastoral. But that is not the case if we examine nature through the lens of interactions with humans. I think that Injun Joe's murderous act could be seen as a manifestation of sublime nature in man. Injun Joe, the half Indian recluse with no values, commits an act that does not reflect the values of the town or the calm of pastoral nature. It is an act that is very divine, except that it came from man's own hands. But then again, the question is posed as to whether or not Injun Joe can be thought of as a real man. Because he is shunned from the town, and comes from a culture attributed to be wild and uncivilized, he may be more nature than man. If that is the case, he is a cruel manifestion of divine nature's will, unpredictability and most importantly, its unfairness.







No comments:

Post a Comment