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Summary
“The Etiquette of Freedom” is an essay written by an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist, Gary Snyder. “The Etiquette of Freedom” was collected in “The Practice of the Wild” and this essay reminds us of our ethical (moral) obligation that we are indeed (truly) connected to everything else. Learning the birds and the flowers is not just school science or nature study rather it is local etiquette. It is rude not to know the neighbours near us. He concludes in this extract that the lessons we learn from the wild become the etiquette of freedom. To know the wild is to be truly free. Here wild means uncontrolled freedom. There is wildness in us and we need to manage and understand its nature to know the true meaning of freedom.
At the beginning of the essay, Snyder asks as if we are animals. According to the writer, we are an animal because we are mammals. Our ancestors were animals. He grew up small farm with cows and chickens near the forest. So he had the good fortune of seeing the human and animal an in the same realm (field). But many people who have not absorbed the implication of it think that they are not animals. They feel they are something better than animals but we must think the shared ground of our common biological (relating to living organisms) being before emphasizing the differences. Our bodies are wild. Both animals and humans have the same features. Both quickly and automatically turn their head at a shout, feel fear of the danger, breathe, feel relaxed in the quiet moment, both eat food to survive. Therefore, the writer says our bodies are wild. It would be a mistake to think that human beings as superior and smarter because of language and society. Animals also communicate extensively (widely). According to writer language and culture emerge from our biological – social, natural existence. Humans acquire first language unconsciously – and for basic purpose. Language is a mind body system that co-evolve (influence in the process of development) with our needs and nerves. Like imagination and the body, language rises unbidden (without having been commanded or invited). Language is learned in the house and in the fields, not at school. Without having ever been taught formal grammar we speak syntactically correct sentences one after another for all the waking hours of the years of our life. Without conscious device we constantly reach into the vast word-hoards (store). We learn vocabulary from the mind. The mind is also wild because the mind takes it automatically or freely. Likewise, other creatures learn a language from their surroundings.
There is social order not only in society, it is found in nature too. In fact, it is in nature before the age of books and legal codes. The social organization and order in government is a set of forms from the operating principles in nature. Actually, we are followers of nature’s rule. The lessons we learn from the wild become the etiquette of freedom. We human beings only are not present in this world. Other creatures also share equally this earth. They have similar features. The depth of mind and the unconscious are our inner wilderness areas. Memories, images, anger, and delights, arise spontaneously in the mind. We balance it with the outer world. There is uncontrolled freedom in it. We need to manage it to enjoy a true sense of freedom. Freedom doesn’t mean we harm other creatures. As we all share the same planet, we must live in harmony with each other and establish an etiquette relationship with nature. According to the essayist, all the creatures in this world are equal so we even cannot hate the mosquitoes by chasing them.
Questions
1) Do you really believe you are an animal? In what specific ways are human beings’ animals?
Ans: Yes, I believe that I am an animal. I think we are like an animal. There are many similarities between humans and animals. We have lungs, a heart, a brain, a nervous system, and all those other features we share with mammals. Both humans and animals eat, sleep, think and communicate. Like an animal, we also feel pain and agony, joy and happiness. Both humans and animals quickly and automatically turn their head at a shout, feel fear of the danger, breathe, feel relaxed in the quiet moment, both eat food to survive. Therefore, the writer says our bodies are wild. Both need oxygen to survive on the earth. It is said that the ancestors of humans are monkeys. It would be a mistake to think that human beings as superior and smarter because of language and society. Animals also communicate extensively (widely). According to writer language and culture emerge from our biological social, natural existence. The most interesting thing is that children crawl with legs and hands like four-footed animals.
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