Journal 8: A First American Views His Land by N. Scott Momaday

This writing by N. Scott Momaday really shows the evolution of our country in how it has evolved from the simplicity of man living with nature to what it has become today, in which Momaday believes is the destruction of the environment. He explains how the Indian kills the buffalo because he needs to eat, but he also claims the fact that the Indian can kill the buffalo only for the reason that he has a weapon that makes it easy. I think this makes readers wonder how much our use of the environment today is necessary and what is in excess because of our natural tendency to be greedy with nature.

Journal 7: from Walden; or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

As I read Walden by Henry David Thoreau, I gradually become more and more confused. The way his scattered writing is thrown onto the page, I find it very difficult to follow and I have a hard time grasping the intention of the story. The writing almost feels like poetry, however, doesn’t have the structure and rhythm of a poem. It feels quick-paced and rushed, like he has so much to say and it is pouring out of him and into the story. I feel that with the addition of more breaks, breathing, or some kind of rhythmic pattern to his writing, I would feel much more engaged as a reader.