The Loss Of The Creature Analysis
Do you remember the first time you met a friend or a significant other, or the first time you walked into your job or home? Do you remember how critical or crucial that first impression you formed was? First impressions are important no matter what it is for, a job interview, viewing a new house, etc. So, imagine the first impression earlier explorers had when discovering new lands, such as America. Nothing will ever compare to this pure first impression, the fact that you have no prior knowledge to what you are looking at makes it that much more fascinating. In Walker Percy’s, “The Loss of the Creature” he debates whether people visiting jaw dropping places like the Grand Canyon are truly having the fascinating experience that early explorers
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According to Percy this is one of the largest struggles to these tourists, “The problem is to find an “unspoiled” place. “Unspoiled” does not mean only that a place is left physically intact; it means also that it is not encrusted by renown and by the familiar (as in Taxco), that it has not been discovered by others” (Percy 463). Another factor that Percy says ruins these visitors experience is the fact that they have seen pictures and heard information about what they are going to see, before seeing it with their own eyes. This could easily lead to satisfaction, but could just as easily lead to dissatisfaction. If what they saw in the brochure isn’t exactly like what they see, they could easily be disappointed since it lacks in comparison. Percy believes that this takes away from the true experience of actually witnessing the location for the first time in person, “If it looks just like the postcard, he is pleased; he might even say, “Why it is every bit as beautiful as a picture postcard!” He feels he has not been cheated. But if it does not conform, if the colors are somber, he will not be able to see it directly; he will only be conscious of the disparity between what it is and what it is supposed to be” (Percy 460). My family and I are soon going on a vacation to Cancun, Mexico, and I have never been here before, but I have prevented myself from
According to Percy this is one of the largest struggles to these tourists, “The problem is to find an “unspoiled” place. “Unspoiled” does not mean only that a place is left physically intact; it means also that it is not encrusted by renown and by the familiar (as in Taxco), that it has not been discovered by others” (Percy 463). Another factor that Percy says ruins these visitors experience is the fact that they have seen pictures and heard information about what they are going to see, before seeing it with their own eyes. This could easily lead to satisfaction, but could just as easily lead to dissatisfaction. If what they saw in the brochure isn’t exactly like what they see, they could easily be disappointed since it lacks in comparison. Percy believes that this takes away from the true experience of actually witnessing the location for the first time in person, “If it looks just like the postcard, he is pleased; he might even say, “Why it is every bit as beautiful as a picture postcard!” He feels he has not been cheated. But if it does not conform, if the colors are somber, he will not be able to see it directly; he will only be conscious of the disparity between what it is and what it is supposed to be” (Percy 460). My family and I are soon going on a vacation to Cancun, Mexico, and I have never been here before, but I have prevented myself from