Wilderness Versus Wildness

Wilderness Versus Wildness Wilderness and wildness are two words that present two different views of how nature effects civilizations. Wilderness has a positive connotation, meaning the forest and the beautiful aspects of nature. Wildness means living with no rules, and relying on the basic human instinct to survive. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur has displayed contradictory views on New Britain, and how the people living there conduct themselves. Both wilderness and wildness are concepts that represented New Britain and show the struggle between incorporating what the Europeans brought to a new land, and the untamed land they settled. In Letters from an American Farmer, de Crevecoeur does not show any respect for those for those he considers “wild.” He views those who live in the forest as little more than “savages.” (p.4) He believes that eating uncultivated meat has a physical and mental effect on them, which is ironic since now it is has been proven unhealthy to eat anything other than natural meat and unprocessed food. He considers people who live in the “wild” to be “ferocious, gloomy, and unsociable.” (p.4) Also, he believes that they do not have much of a future, because they do not trust the other people who live like them. He views as animals, vying with each other for the next big kill. He is exaggerating some characteristics of frontier culture, and does not show proof for his generalizations. Although he is a little harsh in his beliefs and criticisms of people living in the forest, he does, however, tap into a core feature of settlers coming to a new untamed land. De Crevecoeur is making a case for pastoral living as opposed to hunting and gathering which can be more risky.
Like so many others at the time, de Crevecoeur is quick to point out the beauty and opportunity for European immigrants that lay in New Britain at the time. He is amazed by the idea of infinite space and opportunity. Here, de Crevecoeur is not just thinking of