Interior and Exterior Landscapes

Throughout history, many people have lived on this Earth.  One example of a group of people are the Pueblos.  This village of people believed everything on the Earth is here for our use.  The deer that are placed on this planet are open to sacrificing themselves for our use.  They also believed that the spirits of these animals are looking down at us and if everything isn't used from the body then the spirits will come down and haunt them. The Pueblo’s respected and loved the land they lived on.  They understood the land and believed that we as humans are just a part of the land as everything else is.  I found this part of the story interesting because I had never viewed people as a part of Mother Nature.  

I always viewed people as abusing the land and all of its beauty.  When I go hiking, I see that I am a part of the beauty of the world.  Climbing up mountains and looking over the edge into the distance and seeing the trees and beauty that we are so fortunate to be living in is amazing to me.  Earths colors, especially viewing them in all different seasons from the same spot, is so amazing to me and makes me wonder how something could be so beautiful.  

The one part of this story that spoke to me personally was the ending.  When the Yupik Eskimo woman planned peoples deaths, it felt to me like she represents the people living on this Earth, and the people who she drowns is Mother Nature and the atmosphere.  She is killing the white trader like we are killing the world.  She pretends to not notice anything and distances herself from him like we do everyday.  We as people living on this planet know we are killing it, but we distance ourselves and pretend to not notice what is happening.  At the end of the story when it says “…an immeasurable freezing will descend with a darkness that obliterates the sun.”  (Silko 47) this is a warning that when we use Earths resources and take advantage of them, then the planet will no longer perceiver and be as beautiful as it is today. 

Another story that spoke to me but is the opposite of the Pueblos is the excerpt from "The Grapes of Wrath".  This expresses the land and the beauty of it, except unlike the Pueblos, the farmer in this excerpt doesn't love or understand the land.  He treats is as though its there for his muse and to make money from.  I believe that there are people out in the world who are just like the farmer and people who are just like the Pueblos.  As soon as you start to love and understand the land, it will give you what you want, and show you its true beauty.  For me, I am lucky enough for the land to show me its true beauty and be able to call it a part of my life.