The idea of "deliverance" in the novel of that name by James Dickey is that the individual who has respect for nature and understands its power will be "delivered" from it. The idea is not merely of survival but of redemption. If one tries to conquer nature, or turn its wilderness into a "big marina" (Dickey 236), then one will lose not only the power of nature but one's own power as well. The idea is to live in such a way that one's respect for nature's power causes one to go along with that power rather than try to fight it or conquer it:
Lewis is still a good shot, and it is still a pleasure to watch him. "I think my release is passing over into Zen," he said once. "Those gooks are right. You shouldn't fight it. Better to cooperate with it. Then it'll take you there; take the arrow there" (Dickey 236).
Lewis is the character in the book who speaks most for nature, or as a representative of the people who are willing to respect nature. He has nothing but disdain, even hatred, for those people who would dam up the wildness of nature in order to make money:
The whole valley will be under water. But right now it's wild. And I mean wild; it looks like something up in Alaska. We really ought to go up there before the real estate people get hold of it and make it over into one of their heavens (Dickey 7).
The power and mystery of nature are emphasized again and again as the four men work their way deeper into the wilderness. At the same time, there is always the feeling that if one does not recognize and respect this power, one will be terribly hurt as a result, in one way or another:
Well, let me tell you. You come up here camping in the woods, on the river in some places, or back off in the bush, hunting or whatever you're doing, and in the middle of the night you're liable to hear the most God-awful scream that ever got loose from a human mouth. There's no explanation for it. You just hear it, and that's all (Dickey 48...