In his "Nature" essay, Emerson claims "Nature never wears a mean appearance." (952) I find that hard to believe. What kind of face was nature wearing when hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 or when Thailand was washed away the tsunami in which thousands of people died? The truth is, that nature CAN be mean: it can kill and destroy. And I think Edgar Allen Poe, unlike Emerson, would agree with me.
Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher," is a clear example of nature wearing "a mean appearance." Roderick Usher blamed nature for cursing his family and making him into a tortured soul. He believed the demonic nature of his home had "for centuries/moulded the destinies of his family.'' (926) Roderick thought the house was "enchanted by certain supersitious impressions/ he said, obtained over his spirit."(922) The evil Nature living within the walls of his mansion kept him a prisoner of "FEAR." (922) In the end, nature in the form of Usher's twin sister blasts through the door with "superhuman energy," murders Rodrick bringing an end to the cursed Usher Dinesty. (931)
Poe saw that Nature could be dark. The thought of nature being cheerful and never "mean" is laughable. A quick look at the world around us will prove my point.
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