National Parks from Muir’s Perspective
John Muir presents National Parks as a successful attempt to restore the natural balance, destroyed by civilization. The writer recognizes natural parks not only as fountains of irrigating rivers and timber but also as “fountains of life” (Muir 1). The wilderness of the national parks, created so closely to industrial areas, is admired by Muir for richness of floral and faunal species and fascinating landscapes. The idea of contrasting nature to civilization is developed throughout the work, “none of Nature's landscapes are ugly so long as they are wild” (Muir 4). John Muir shares his experience of visiting a number of national parks and reservoirs, which he admired for their beauty.
The writer describes the life in full swing the mountains to highlight that the nature in the mountains is not dying but is experiencing a rebirth. The underlying reason for the John Muir to present the mountains in such way might be the wish to draw back the attention of the readers from the comfort of the civilization to harmony of the nature.
Works Cited
Muir, John. “Chapter 1 ‘The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West’”. Our National Parks, 1st ed., Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1991, pp. 1-27, …
