I would like to take a moment to reflect upon the stylistic elements that Theresa May incorporates into her play Salmon is Everything. She uses several different methods of interpreting her claims, and I feel that all are useful to convey a well-rounded story.

Dr. Theresa May

Personally, I thought the opening scene was well put together and did a fabulous job at conveying the message of the play. May wanted people to be aware of the population changes in Salmon and the importance that they play into Native American tribes, and she did this through poetic discourse. You have all these characters stating who they are and, at times, what tribes they are apart of. The list includes Karuk, Yurok, Nu-Tini-Xwe—Hupa, and many others. Some people chose to identify themselves by their profession such as farmers, basket weavers, dancers, biologists, etc..

This element metaphorically represented the relationship that people have with the salmon. They don’t simply use the fish for economic or fiscal gain, but have adopted the salmon as a part of their culture. It’s phenomenal to me that animals have such an influence on a single culture.

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Helen Viramontes

Helen Viramontes presents several interesting aspects of literary creativity that I would like to discuss. Her book gave me insight, honestly, into a new cultural perspective. Now, I understand her book is fiction, but all the same, it provides a different cultural perspective.
I grew up with a Mother, Father, and one Sister. More or less, this is a traditional family in the United States. My Father works in the production sector, and my mother works in business and both have worked hard to provide incomes that support my sister and myself. We have not lived in either the wealthy class, nor the under the poverty line, but rather right in the middle, comfortably enjoying the life that has been bestowed upon us.

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Charles Darwin is considered a pioneer in terms of empirical science. His theory of evolution is widely used today. But, what some people don’t realize is that apart from writing a scientific novel, Darwin also wrote a great piece of literature. He uses several different poetic devices that, at least for me, truly help to develop the ideas of his theory in a way that’s easy for the reader to understand and picture.

Darwin’s first attempt at mapping out his tree of evolution.

“The affinities of all the beings of the same class have sometimes been represented by a great tree. I believe this simile largely speaks the truth. The green and budding twigs may represent existing species; and those produced during each former year may represent the long succession of extinct species.” (Darwin, On the Origin of species)

When I read this passage, I think, Darwin did a fantastic job at explaining his theory. His overall argument is that species evolve from one another, and that those species with similar traits to others have a less likely chance at survival. He titled this theory Natural Selection and it’s widely used among the fields of environmental studies.

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During the last week, we have dissected and interpreted passages from Nature. Specifically, we have interpreted Emerson’s reference to the transparent eye. I want to take a look further into this passage and reflect my thoughts on to what Emerson means.

“Crossing a bare common, in snow puddles, at twilight, under a clouded sky, without having in my thoughts any occurrence of special good fortune, I have enjoyed a perfect exhilaration. I am glad to the brink of fear. In the woods too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough… I become a transparent eye-ball. I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of god.

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There are many people who have contributed great literary works, specifically in the area of environmental literature. From Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” to contemporary writers such as Emily Dickinson, critics of ecology have contributed a sense of how the environment should be viewed. In particular, there is one quote that really shows the importance and definition of the word environment as a noun.

“Two roads diverged in the woods and I-I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

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