William CrononÆs (1996) The Trouble With Wilderness is an essay that debunks many of our modern notions of the dwindling resources of nature and our incompatibility to immerse ourselves in real nature. Cronon (1996, p. 3) argues that we have an illusion of nature that seems to suggest we do not recognize what nature actually is and also distances us from actually existing in it, ôAs we gaze into the mirror it holds up for us, we too easily imagine that what we hold is Nature when in fact we see the reflection of our own unexamined longings and desires.ö This essay will address some of CrononÆs main points in The Trouble With Wilderness, an attempt at undermining our illusions of nature so that we might actually find ourselves home once more in the wilderness.
The main argument offered by Cronon is that our modern notion or conception of wilderness is quite limiting and even endangers our understanding and appreciation of it. Cronon argues that most of our personal and cultural perceptions of wilderness are derived from nineteenth century conceptions and contexts of it, whether they are from Hawthorne, Thoreau, Emerson or others. As a repository of all that was pure in creation, the wilderness became sacred. As a symbol of the frontier and its values, it became viewed as something that must be preserved and was being lost. As Cronon (1996, p. 6) ôWilderness came to embody the national frontier myth, standing for the wild freedom of AmericaÆs past and seeming to represent a highly attractive natural alternative to the ugly artificiality of modern civilization.ö Such perceptions are increasingly irrelevant to contemporary issues we struggle with, like land use, recreation or aesthetics. Instead, we imagine nature to be some pristine, untouched place that is only a mirror of our own uncritically viewed belongings and desires.
Cronon maintains that much like Hester Prynne in The S
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