Literary Views of Nature: A Comparative Analysis Essay

This essay compares and contrasts different views of nature as presented in Thomas Lewis's 'The Lives of a Cell,' N. Scott Momaday's 'The Way to Rainy Mountain,' and Gretel Ehrlich's 'The Solace of Open Spaces.' Lewis offers a scientific perspective, viewing humans as a microscopic part of nature, while Momaday and Ehrlich present more spiritual and cultural viewpoints, emphasizing humanity's deep connection to the land and the healing power of nature. The essay analyzes how these authors use imagery and personal narratives to convey their perspectives, highlighting the unifying concept that nature is an all-encompassing entity, both permanent and impermanent, that binds humanity together despite differing backgrounds and beliefs. Ultimately, the essay concludes that nature, whether viewed scientifically or spiritually, serves as a unifying factor that transcends the ordinary and invokes various sentiments within different hearts, making it a central theme in these literary works.

Running Head: VIEW OF NATURE
VIEW OF NATURE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The view of Nature has always been presented by countless authors, from a different
perspectives. Similarly Thomas Lewis, in The Lives of a Cell provides a more scientific view
of nature while N. Scott. Momaday’s and Gretel Ehrlich’s, ‘The Way to Rainy Mountain’ and
‘The Solace of Open Spaces’ provides a more spiritual view of nature. In this essay we will
compare and contrast the two kinds of views and the literary pieces to explore the methods in
which nature has been presented and the implications of the different perspectives.
Lewis in ‘the Lives of Cell’ looks at humans as a microscopic part of nature, guarded
within the urban jungle, filled with assumptions that make them regard themselves as a
‘lethal force’ strong enough to make nature bow down in mercy. Lewis rubbishes these
claims and divulges deep into the fascinating aspects of nature and provides a very factual
view of nature as a wonder while maintaining that despite any claim made by the intellectual
man boasting about his new invention that lends him the ultimate power, Man is deeply
embedded within Nature. He is a shared entity (Narendra). He goes on to prove his point of
view with, metaphors to build a bridge that connects the apparently big plant to the scientific
systems deeply embedded. He compares our delicate vulnerability to ‘cilia’ and it is evident
that he meant that humans serve the role of limbs for the earth much like the biological
function, the ‘cilia’ is responsible for (Lewis). He states that ‘genomes’ are like instruction
catalogues with information filed within them. He tries to give these metaphors an edge with
personification, while trying to make viruses more relatable to human experiences as he
allocates them to a ‘dancing matric’ where they move “from plant to insect to mammal to me
and back again, into the sea.”
‘The Way to Rainy Mountain’ by Momaday on the other hand can be interpreted as a
piece which is both theological and a commentary on culture, as well as religion. This
fictional autobiography is based on Oklahoma near Rainy mountain, where he notices that the
desolation on land has transcended beyond everything earthly and imagines that God begun

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the Earth’s design right there. He goes on to narrate stories of immigration to Oklahoma from
Montana, the spiritual beliefs of the people like the Sun Dance and the creation myth about a
tribe originating from a hollow log (Momaday). The grandmother is discussed at various
points, and it is in her memory that he embarks upon a journey to the great migration of his
ancestors. He recounts little details of their spiritualism like the divine tree trunk being
scratched by a bear and draws his own conclusions, in which he believes that the sun’s beauty
and presence is the very reason it was worshipped (Berner). He tells us that the grandmother
had converted to Christianity as the white men termed the native as barbaric and violent,
while they broke up the final Sun dance and the culture walked down the path of decay. What
remained in the end, was the grandmother’s grave, in a lap of nature, somewhere near the
rainy mountains, where she lay closest to whatever was dead yet she held dear. We see that
nature has been portrayed as the basis of a culture and despite everything, man returns to
nature in the end.
‘The Solace of Open Spaces’ by Ehrlich’s is autobiographical in nature as well as it
deals with her relationship with grief, post a heartbreak back in the city, from where she
moves to Wyoming and develops a strong bond with nature, while working as a sheep
herder. It is evocative of the relatability she shares with nature, as she admits that losing
something we value gradually reminds us of what it feels like to be whole (Legler). The
impermanence of nature seems to teach her about loss that triggers, “an unquenchable
appetite for life.” Nature is used in social contexts as well as she talks about affluence
limiting a person’s horizon, which is then filled with material possessions, that has now
reduced in value, in the arms of nature. She realizes that life is much more through the
Wyoming clay, as it inspires her to break free from a limited standpoint (Ehrlich). Her life as
a writer is heavily alluded to as well because she shifts to natural means of inspiration, as she
begins to write because she loves to write and not because she is bound to write something

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that can be passed as an exemplary piece. This is a celebratory piece that exudes details about
her oneness with nature.
We see a similar outlook being shared by the writers as they admit after spiritual,
cultural and social estimation, about humanity as a part that is deeply integrated within
nature. All three of the pieces are filled with natural imagery against the backdrop of personal
contexts. Nature is addressed as the scientific maker of beings and this is iterated in the
spiritual contexting of nature as a god, followed by nature as a healer and lover, who reminds
us of the vastness and the mortality and vulnerability of human beings that can be utilized,
positively, as a part of nature, capable of countless wonders. The imagery of nature is
inherently rustic and romantic through the eyes of Ehrlich and Momaday while Lewis,
presents it more factually. However, nature is personified in all three to allocate a degree of
relatability that is important for people to view it with a fresher perspective.
All these views can be agreed with at the point that unifies it. Nature works as a
paradox. It is the amalgamation of everything on this planet. Nature is a permanent entity
made of impermanent beings and systems. It is the chalice of everything real and concocted.
It is the very molecule from which life begins and ends. Hence, nature can be considered as
an all-encompassing concept, present at every step because we belong inside it.
In conclusion, nature binds these very different literary pieces together to make sense
of the various perspectives of countless people across the face of the earth. It is a unifying
factor that invokes various sentiments within different hearts. Hence, nature has been alluded
to and included within these pieces, despite the differences in backgrounds to give it an image
of something that transcends beyond the ordinary.

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References
Berner, Robert L. "N. Scott Momaday: Beyond Rainy Mountain." American Indian Culture
and Research Journal 3.1 (1979): 57-67.
Ehrlic, Gretel. The Solace of Open Spaces. (1982)
Legler, Gretchen. "Toward a postmodern pastoral: the erotic landscape in the work of Gretel
Ehrlich." Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment 1.2 (1993): 45-56.
Lewis, Thomas. The Lives of a Cell. (1971)
Momaday, N. Scott. The way to rainy mountain. (1969)
Nagendra, Harini. The Lives of a Cell- Book Review. (2000).