And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)
We have begun to see how the writers whose works we have been reading and talking about are, even if they are not conscious of doing so, carrying on a conversation. David Gelernter, Gary Snyder, and Jerry Mander all address the issue of the relationship of human beings to nature and all three consider the moral and ethical nature of that relationship. Yet all three do not agree. The epigram from Genesis might be one of the bases in the "Judeo-Christian" tradition that Gelernter is thinking of when he states his position, though since he does not specifically cite scripture or any other authority to support his assertion, that is only my inference.
For this essay, I want you to enter into that conversation with these three writers. Your essay should include the following elements:
Construct a thesis statement that allows you/obligates you to address these points and shape your essay accordingly.
As before, your essay needs to express a clear sense of its own thesis: "what am I talking about?" (subject), "what am I trying to do in this essay?" (purpose), and "how am I going to do it?" (method).
The paper should be 4-5 pages (1000-1250 words) in length.
Please turn your final drafts in to me (at: dmosser@vt.edu) via Eudora. Since "text only" formatting does not display the usual paragraphing structures (5-space-indented first lines, for example), I ask that you indicate paragraph breaks by inserting two returns. This will place a line of space between paragraphs. Please be sure to title the file with your last name and "essay2": e.g., "smith.essay2."
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