The Nature of Nature 2019

I have chosen the Bald Eagle because its my Dad’s favorite animal.  I used to love hearing him call me to run outside and look through his binoculars because he had spotted one perched high on tree branch in the distance.  They were rare, I was always amazed to see them.  I think a connection can be made between the Bald Eagle populations and Williams mother’s battle with cancer.  The Bald Eagle was previous on the endangered species list but they have been removed since, and now have an increasing population.  The Eagles have fought back and returned their population to healthy numbers.  Williams’ Mom fought cancer and was able to keep surviving.  I believe humans could be seen as a disease, plaguing the environment and organisms.  William’s mother was able to find refuge in dancing, forgetting she had cancer, and taking things day by day.  With out using some of her coping strategies, her life may have been even more difficult than it already was.  The environment serves as a refuge for the eagles.  As we continue to negatively affect the environment by cutting down trees, polluting the air, and use harmful pesticides we take refuge away from the Eagles, making survival more difficult for them.  One of the main reasons Eagles lost much of their population was due to the chemical DDT.  Eagles ingested this chemical when they ate contaminated fish.  After banning the use of this chemical in the U.S. the Bald Eagle population was able to recover.

This chapter is located towards the end of the book. Terry’s mother Diane has just passed away and she is spending a lot of time her grandmother Mimi who has now been diagnosed with cancer. She begins the section by describing the character of a great blue heron, anthropomorphizing the bird, and telling us of herresiliency. Herability to stay at home as the water levels rise and retreat. This alludes to Terry’s own “generational stance, the legacy of her lineage.”

Upon further investigation, it seems that blue herons are symbols of balance and illustrate what it is to evolve through changing environments. Whenever I see these birds at home, they are almost always wading, walking, and observing at the shallow edges of ponds or lakes. Sometimes I spot one flying overhead, with neck outstretched, but this is a rare occurrence. Like many other water birds, they exist in the worlds both above and below the water line, reliant on their long legs to carry them deeper into the shallows, but never venturing too far. Overall, Terry uses this bird in order to discuss her own need for balance in her life and her ability to weather this tide of familial loss.

The “Gray jay”, more officially known as the “Canada jay”, is used to to title a chapter in William’s book, Refuge. I chose this chapter because the Gray jay has some spiritual meaning to it all over the United States and Canada. It’s symbolized as a part of nature in a folk tale around the Maine/New Brunswick region, where it reflects actions done on it back to the person performing the action. Another representation is by the Ojibwa/Cree tribes in Northern Michigan/Southern Canada surrounding Lake Superior, where trickster gods would take form as the Gray Jay and aid humans. Gray jays are curious birds and are known to interact with humans on many occasions, with no indication of fear.

In this chapter, the Tempest family is mourning the pour health of the family matriarch (Terry’s mother). She is willing to let go and to have a peaceful death, despite still suffering with her battle from cancer.  I believe the Gray jay is used to title the chapter as it represents the mother of the story. Many Gray jays have a short lifespan and are known to represent the health of the surrounding ecosystems. As the lake level has began its own treatments, the mother remains with very poor health and only continues to weaken as she does not want the treatments and wishes to pass away. The methods of trying to treat her condition only make her feel worse, but in comparison, the treatment of the lake fixed the flooding of the lake but ended up displacing many birds around the environment. Much like the Gray jay, she represents the land around her and everyone in the Tempest family knows it as well.

I chose Ravens because I’ve always been fascinated by their symbolism. Ravens are traditionally understood to represent prophesy or a bad omen. Likewise, Ravens are seen as having a special connection between the physical and spiritual world, likely because, according to their symbolism, they exist in a liminal space between death and life. This fits well into the subject matter of Williams’s chapter. Williams begins the chapter on the topic of her mother’s cancer but later ventures to describe her father’s birthday, her grandparent’s courtship and the changes to Saltair after the Great Depression. I expected the chapter to be entirely about Williams’s mother’s cancer and eventual death and was surprised by these divergences. At first message appears to be: time passes, things change: people die, people are born, and the world drastically changes shape. Upon further inspection, I’d like to argue that while those themes are present, the chapter is speaking about fleeting good moments that become memories and the act of holding onto those memories when things change for the worse (ie Mother’s cancer and the corruption of Saltair). The grandparents hold onto ideas of Saltair the way it was when they courted: glamorous. The Mother and Father hold onto memories of past birthdays. Despite all of this, the raven does symbolize a bad omen, suggesting the general corruption of all things good within this family. The raven’s prophetic symbolism suggests that this corruption, like the Mother’s cancer is inescapable.

 

I chose the chapter Bald Eagle for two reasons. First, this past Saturday I saw a bald eagle for the first time in my life. It was perched halfway up the light pole nearest the golf course at Papp stadium, with its head held high and chest puffed out. It was surreal. Secondly, the Philadelphia Eagles have always been my favorite NFL team. Therefore, it was only natural that I was drawn towards this chapter. The Bald Eagle’s most well known feature is its very unique white head and shoulders, as well as its overpowering sense of focus and determination in its eyes. Furthermore, when on the hunt for prey, the Bald Eagle can top speeds of 100 mph. Overall, this is one cool bird.

In the chapter, Williams continues talking about her mom’s cancer, and the ongoing battle she is fighting with it. She brings up their conversations about the disease and her mom’s experience with it. Her mom explains that sometimes she forgets she has the disease and that life goes on as normal. She later brings in her experience of seeing 12 bald eagles standing on the frozen salt lake, looking like “white hooded monks”. Furthermore, she explains their feeding habits and migratory patterns, stating “when the ice goes so do they”. Overall, I think the bald eagle experience connects to the general theme of cancer prevalent throughout the book . The theme that cancer affects everything in a persons life, could be applied to humans cancerous effects on nature. When someone gets cancer, not only does their body start deteriorating, their relatives and loved ones also bear some burden. In a similar way, humans can be a cancer to nature, affecting the habitats of animals. If the habitat of a particular animal is destroyed, then the animal bears the consequences, or takes the burden, often leading to extinction. Humans have lead to the rapid increase in global temperature, which could result in there being no more ice soon (in geographic time). Therefore, the habitat of the bald eagle using the ice on Salt Lake for hunting/feeding grounds, as explained by Williams, may soon no longer exist. Leading to the extinction of the Bald Eagle in a similar way as cancer.

Reference with cool facts about the Bald Eagle: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/bird-species/birds-of-prey/7-cool-facts-bald-eagles/.

I chose the Burrowing Owl. I like owls, and I like burrowing. I thought that the chapter was interesting because it had strife in it between the mom and the author. At least i know that personally if i get in a fight with someone, let alone my mother, i retreat. I go back to somewhere where i feel safe. I burrow.

Doing my own research on those fine furry friends I found that they were the Least Concern when it came to the endangered scale. I thought it was kind of funny, because (Barring those troublesome humans) if they were being hunted by natural predators to a dangerous level then they wouldnt be that good at burrowing now would they? Branching off this are two topics, one of the human perception and one of being safe. I dont know if anyone else was alive (13–holy shit 13?!) years ago. But that is when the lil movie based on a book called Hoot came out. It showed these lil bird boys in their most endangered, which is to say in the way of something human. I think it is interesting to think that something which was evolved into for safety has pretty much become irrelevant due to our grand plans. The second branch of being safe is that although it is something we all do, it may not always work. When a larger more difficult problem arises (Humans in this metaphor) then doing what always feels safe doesnt always work.

 

In the chapter entitled “California Gulls,” Williams and her family initially believe that her mother’s cancer is gone only to find out hours later that this was a premature thought, and her mother’s cancer is not gone. Williams immediately starts describing how the California gulls saved Utah residents’ crops in 1848 by eating the crickets that were destroying the crops. To the people of Utah these birds are seen as their rescuers in a time of crisis. There is even a gold statue of a California gull in Salt Lake City to commemorate this event. To Williams the California gull symbolizes a savior and is mentioned in this chapter because Williams would like someone to save her mother the same way the Utahans were saved.

When I first read the chapter, I did not know what a California gull looked like, but I have googled it since. The gull is the bird in “Finding Nemo” that says “mine, mine, mine” over and over again. I have always associated the California gull with this memory of “Finding Nemo.” To me this fowl is the stereotypical gull at the beach, and they are a nuisance. I have learned that they are scavengers and will eat most things (including rodents) and will eat if they are flying, swimming, walking, or wading. I now have a new appreciation for them since reading this chapter in Refuge and can sympathize with the dream of having a hero come and save the day. Now that I know the folklore behind this bird, I will no longer consider them the ants of the beach.

This chapter acts as foreshadowing to the long sad process of Williams’ mother’s death. She introduces the bird by saying that her mother is finishing her six month chemotherapy treatment and that, with life slowly going back to normal, she’s starting to take her mother’s continued life for granted again. She says she once saw a barn swallow stuck in a wire fence and she wanted to save it, but she knew the bird was going to die. She decides to free it from the fence, and the bird, exhausted from fighting to free itself for so long, dies. She says that suffering is caused not by dying, but by resisting death, foreshadowing that fighting cancer is going to cause a lot more suffering.

The barn swallow is notable for making its nests almost exclusively in man made structures. They’ve been noted to form a symbiotic relationship with ospreys as they nest close together. The osprey help defend the swallow nests to help protect their own, and the swallows will chirp loudly and alert the ospreys to intruders. They were also once called “a useful friend to the farmer” by ornithologist Arthur C. Bent in Life Histories of Familiar North American Birds because, as an insectivore they helped cull the insect population (this was of course before the widespread use of insecticides in agriculture began to threaten their food source. They also love to fly. They can do almost any task while flying, including eating, drinking, and even mating in the air.

In the chapter “Ravens” of Terry Williams’ Refuge, the titular bird serves as a metaphor for the impending loss of Willams’ mother. Ravens have long been a symbol of loss and bad omens due to their black plumage and haunting caw. They also can serve as a bridge between the material world and the world of the dead.

Williams explores this association between life and death in this chapter, with the ravens serving as a metaphor for this association. She describes the Saltair boardwalk, which had been burned down, leaving only burnt posts behind that resembled ravens. Being the only remnant left of Saltair, they serve as the “spirit” of the deceased boardwalk in a sense. There is very little left of the pier, which could not be rebuilt after it’s closure and burning, which ties into Williams’ mother, who cannot be rebuilt either and will eventually die from her cancer. It serves as a metaphor for the loss Williams knows is coming, with the ravens serving the purpose of reminding her of this, as a memento mori.

The color black, which ties into the black plumage of the raven that gives it its poor reputation, also plays a prominent role in the chapter. Black is a color associated with death and funerals. The chapter starts with the preparation for Williams’ mother’s chemotherapy, which offers a low chance of survival, beginning with black dots on her stomach. Her mother also is mentioned to have wrapped her husband’s presents in black for one of his birthdays as a joke that he was becoming old and approaching the end of his life. As it is specifically mentioned that William’s mother is older than her husband, it is also a way of saying she is approaching the end of her life as well. And later on in the chapter, the film zombies are described with dark eyes and black clothes. In this particular instance they serve as the raven, being a bridge between the world of the living and the dead.

Williams’ ends the chapter with the statement that “there are ghosts at the Great Salt Lake”, tying together the metaphor of the bridge between life and death. At this point, Williams’ is faced with the fragility of that divide, as she had believed her mother to have gotten better only for it to be revealed that she was still sick. She is aware that her mother will most likely die soon, although she doesn’t want to believe it. The symbolism of the raven in the chapter serves as a representation of this. Williams’ mother is crossing the bridge to the world of the dead and Williams’ is faced with the reality of that.