What are the differences between Captain Davidson’s perception of the natural environment and the Ashthean point of view represented at the opening of chapter 2? Draw on quotations to support your point.
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“But he still couldn’t see why a soybean farm needed to waste a lot of space on trees if the land was managed really scientifically. It wasn’t like that in Ohio; if you wanted corn you grew corn, and no space wasted on trees and stuff.” Captain Davidsons perception was that the earth was to be used and man is the master of nature. “They have killed us by ones, now they will kill us as they kill the trees, by hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds.” Selver, a native of Athse, saw his people as living with nature and the invading Yumens as having come to enslave nature.
Captain Davidson views the natural environment as something that would be dominated by superior forces, which are humans in his perspective. He states, “I like to see things in perspective, from the top down, and the top, so far, is humans. We’re here now; and so this world’s going to go our way. Like it or not, it’s a fact you have to face; it happens to be the way things are.” The Athsheans’ point of view is all pro-nature, as heavily described in the opening of Chapter 2. The opening describes how all-natural objects “collaborate” with each other to exist with one another. For example, it states “The ground was not dry and solid but damp and rather springy, product of the collaboration of living things with the long, elaborate death of leaves and trees; and from that rich graveyard grew ninety-foot trees, and tiny mushrooms that sprouted in circles half an inch across.” These two perspectives are very opposed to each other as it challenges the nature(Athsheans) versus culture(Captain Davidson) theme.
The quote by Captain Davidson you mentioned stood out to me too. Ending with “like it or not, it’s a fact you have to face; it happens to be the way things are.” is a very domineering way to speak. He’s asserting his dominance as well as minimizing any other opinion.
KATELYN’S POST
Captain Davidson’s perception of the natural environment is rather selfish and thoughtless, as he believes that men are the true masters of nature and are suppose to use the space that the earth has to offer. He thinks more modern, as he would build machines and cities with the space that earth has to offer him, and he does not care about disturbing what/who lives in that area. He believes that “He could tame any of them, if it was worth the effort. It wasn’t though. Get enough humans here, build machines and robots, make farms and cities, and nobody would need the creechies any more. And a good thing too. For this world, New Tahiti, was literally made for men. Cleaned up and cleaned out, the dark forests cut down for open fields of grain, the primeval mural and savagery and ignorance wiped out, it would be a paradise, a real Eden. A better world than worn-out Earth”. The Ashthean point of view at the opening of chapter 2 is a bit different, as they are more spiritual and feel one with nature. They feel connect to nature as they live with it, but they are angry with the humans as “they have killed us by ones, now they will kill us as they kill the trees, by hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds.”
The opening of Chaper 2 describes Selvan’s journey through the woods, noting things like the “roots of copper willows, thick and ridged”(25) and “tiny mushrooms that sprouted in circles”(25), showing his deep appreciation of nature, even as he’s weary from exhaustion. While the Ashtheans, like Selvan, are very connected to nature and can appreciate it’s beauty and wonder, Captain Davidson sees nature as something to be exploited and transformed into something fit for human use. In describing the construction of New Tahiti, Le Guin writes “cleaned up and cleaned out, the dark forests cut down for open fields of grain, the primeval murk and savagery and ignorance wiped out, it would be a paradise, a real Eden”(3).
Davidson and Athsheans have opposing point of views on nature. The former, Davidson, views nature as somethint to be dominated by man. “Get enough humans here, build machines and robots, make farms and cities, and nobody would need the creechies any more. And a good thing too. For this world, New Tahiti, was literally made for men.” He believes man is supposed to own and utilize nature to it’s fullest and use whatever resources are available for progression. What’s included as part of nature to use are the race Athsheans – as slaves. He views them as nothing more than livestock, and a primitive race meant to be trampled on and “rubbed out.” Selver, an Athshean on the other hand, is of a race that is one with nature and coexists with it. Nature being meant to be preserved and loved is their ideology.
Captain Davidson and Ashthean have different views on the natural environment. Ashthean view on the natural environment is that is good and likes everything that is about the environment. Asthean says ” …From that rich graveyard grew ninety-foot trees, and tiny mushrooms that sprouted in circles half an inch across.” This quote demonstrates that he loves everything about the environment ( the good and the bad parts). However, Captain Davidson thinks that man is the master of nature. Captain Davison states ” It wasn’t like that in Ohio; if you wanted corn you grew corn, and no space wasted on trees and stuff”. This states that he doesn’t really care for whats grown on the farm since it wastes space.
“See, you want to keep this place just like it is, actually, Kees. Like one big National Forest. To look at, to study. Great, you’re a spesh. But see, we’re just ordinary joes getting the work done. Earth needs wood, needs it bad. We find wood on New Tahiti. So—we’re loggers. See, where we differ is that with you Earth doesn’t come first, actually. With me it does.” The dialogue with Kees demonstrates that for Captain Davidson, nature is not an object of admiration or the place where you can come and just admire and observe around, but the forest for him is primarily as a source of vital resources for the inhabitants of the Earth.”
The chapter begins with a description of the natural environment around which Athsheans live, showing how this contrasts with Captain Davidson’s point of view and how different their relationships with the nature: “No way was clear, no light unbroken, in the forest. Into wind, water, sunlight, starlight, there always entered leaf and branch, bole and root, the shadowy, the complex. Little paths ran under the branches, around the boles, over the roots; they did not go straight, but yielded to every obstacle, devious as nerves.”
Captain Davidson’s did not view the natural environment as something of importance, if it can be avoided by science then it should be. This is displayed when he says, “But he couldn’t see why a soybean farm needed to waste a lot of space on trees if the land was managed really scientifically” (Chapter 1). He doesn’t not seem to really value nature. The Ashthean point of view of nature is much different which we see in the tone and phrasing in the beginning of chapter two, “The ground was not dry and solid but damp and rather springy, product of the collaboration of living things with the long, elaborate death of leaves and trees; and from that rich graveyard grew ninety-foot trees, and tiny mushrooms that sprouted in circles half an inch across” (Chapter 2). There is a sense of beauty and interconnectedness in the way nature is described here.
Captain Davidson’s perception of the natural environment on Asthe can be explained by this quite: “New Tahiti was mostly water, warm shallow seas broken here and there by reefs, islets, archipelagoes, and the five big Lands that lay in a 2500-kilo arc across the Northwest Quarter-sphere. And all those flecks and blobs of land were covered with trees. Ocean: forest. That was your choice on New Tahiti. Water and sunlight, or darkness and leaves.
But men were here now to end the darkness.” He saw the natural environment of the colony planet as if it were a nuisance, something Men had to take control of. He does not see the beauty of the wilderness, he only sees something that desperately needs to be tamed. On the other hand, the native Ashthean, Selver, described the forest in a tone of wonder and reverement: “ALL the colors of rust and sunset, brown-reds and pale greens, changed ceaselessly in the long leaves as the wind blew. The roots of the copper willows, thick and ridged, were moss-green down by the running water, which like the wind moved slowly with many soft eddies and seeming pauses, held back by rocks, roots, hanging and fallen leaves. No way was clear, no light unbroken, in the forest. Into wind, water, sunlight, starlight, there always entered leaf and branch, bole and root, the shadowy, the complex.” Unlike Davidson, Selver did not talk about how the forest was in the way of man, but he described the scene as how nature was all intertwined with “wind, water, sunlight, starlight.”
Captain Davidson views the environment as somewhat of a nuisance and non-importance. Davidson sees this as an opportunity to take whatever he wants and that the earth’s resources are created for human use. This is evident in the quote “He could tame any of them, if it was worth the effort” for when the description of Davidson accurately represents his mindset in the use and consumption of trees and resources. Asthean differs from Davidsons’ view on nature and believes that the environment should be here to stay and that it is beautiful in its perfections and flaws. He says ” From that rich graveyard grew ninety-foot trees and tiny mushrooms that sprouted in circles.” Asthean sees nature in a beautiful and pleasant manner and expresses anger and hatred to the people who take down the ecosystems for their own gain.
Captain Davidson views the natural environment to be not as superior as human beings since he visualizes human beings dominating the natural environment, “the top so far is humans”. The Ashthean point of view differs from Captain Davidson as they saw the natural environment to be something amazing, beautiful and “a rich graveyard”. The Astheans would prefer it if the natural environment were untouched because of how perfect it looked in their eyes. However, the beauty of the natural environment is seen as a “must have” to Captain Davidson based on his perspective of it.