Wilderness

The question concerning whether the wilderness is a manmade construct has been on my mind since our discussion in Cameron Park. I believe that like almost everything in this world, pieces of land were sectioned off and defined as wilderness by man. Even though this is the case, I think that the wilderness is an entryway to finding nature. It is nature that is not constructed and empowered by man. I think that Old Ben signifies nature. Isaac entered the wilderness to find Old Ben. From the very beginning, Isaac had no intentions of killing the bear. He only desired to be in its’ presence and to experience it for himself. After a few failed attempts, Isaac realizes that only when he leaves everything that would connect him to society and civilization will Old Ben reveal himself. This implies that nature is unyielding and one can only connect with it when one leaves society behind. After saying this, I believe many can experience the wilderness, but only a few are truly able to have a pure relationship with nature. Not everyone is able to leave the comforts of civilization completely in order to find nature.