Occurrence of Nature Imagery in Literature of Los Angeles - Essay Example

Nature in LA: Metaphor Essay While nature imagery in literature is a highly prevalent trope, its occurrence in literature of Los Angeles is a rare occurrence. For the simple reason of the metropolitan nature of the city, most writers have focused on the more romanticized aspects of life in the city. Even as there exists a dearth of nature imagery written on the city, a number of powerful accounts have implemented nature as central elements. Indeed, the very striving for water constituted one of the central aspects that allowed the city develop into the metropolis it is today. In movies like Chinatown filmmakers explored the powerful structural concerns water and nature played in the development of the city. Another poignant account is captured in Cedric Belfrage’s The Promised Land. This essay considers the metaphor of nature in the Promised Land, arguing that the text demonstrates nature as a metaphor of life, destruction, as well as a central element of the city. The Promised Land examines nature in Los Angeles through a number of perspectives. One of the recurring motif’s is through the investigation of the Old River. The Old River is explored through a variety of angles. One of the initial perspectives on the river is as an augmentation to Old Si’s life. The text describes how during periods when the river would overflow, Old Si would wander down to the river, “as though his brain were the throat of a thirsty man” (pg. 163). As the text advances, and further background information is given regarding Old Si, it becomes clear that the river functions as an important metaphor to his life. The text states, “He’d always been eccentric about the river, talked of it as ‘gold’. Now he talked as if it were a living creative: almost as if it were a beautiful young wife that had been snatched from him” (pg. 165). This is one of the most powerful lines in the text speaking of the connection of the river to Old Si. Old Si represents a sort of old world Los Angeles and his connection to the river can be linked to this old world life. The passage also further demonstrates the metaphor of nature as being a central aspect of life in Los Angeles. For Old Si it has become centrally linked it his quality of life to the extent that he would rather live near it than move to the East coast. Later in the text, the water functions as a sort of life force for children and grown people in the area. It speaks of how the children played in the water, and how old individuals had tears strewn from their face watching a waterfall. This theme of the river augmenting life is also seen when Old Si converses with Don. The text describes Don as being linked to the poem in as powerful a way as Old Si. It states, “But here was a chance to make a reality of his whim: to follow his rover along the aqueduct, and see for himself was still working far across the mountains, fertilizing desert soil and making the earth bring forth its bounty” (pg. 166). In these regards, the river and nature function as this central metaphor of life as well as a crucial motif throughout the story. Another recurring theme through the text is the centrality of the river to the city. A brief historical perusal demonstrates that one of the central aspects of ensuring that Los Angeles could develop the way it did was to ensure that the city had adequate water supply. Previous to drastic measures being taken to ensure that water was directed into the city, Los Angeles did not have a steady water supply. After these shortcomings were circumvented, the city was able to grow into the mega-metropolis that it is today. It’s in this context that the image of the Old River in ‘Promised Land’ can be read as a central metaphor for life in the city. Numerous times throughout the text general descriptive imagery is given about the river. As the narrative advances it’s clear that descriptions of the river become central elements in its construction. Not only is the river the central aspect of the city, but its metaphorically represents the backbone of the story’s narrative structure. While the river represents a central metaphor of life in the city, it paradoxically represents destruction as well. In developing the infrastructure around the water system, it’s clear that the city has to destroy a number of already established structural elements. In these regards, the nature imagery in terms of water represents both creation and destruction. “They had dynamited holes in their own aqueduct wall. The holes were easily repaired; the credit of the valley ranchers, not easily. The ranchers were drawn together by a deep, spontaneous craving for justice” (pg. 164). This metaphor of the river as embodying destruction is extended by the author to include investigations into the construction of the aqueduct as demonstrating oppression and social distress. One can consider the text when it states, “Fights were frequent and a kind of martial law existence. The people of Los Angeles read in their newspaper that the grasping illiterate, un-American people of Owens Valley had gone berserk but that the forces of progress and civilization had the situation under control” (pg. 165). In additional to the central concern with the river itself, this conflict between inhabitants of the region and the city over this aspect of nature constitutes another of the text’s central metaphors. In conclusion, The Promised Land presents metaphors of nature in a variety of contexts in terms of the river. This essay argues that the text presents the river as a central aspect of the life of citizens and inhabitants of the city. Another metaphor presented is the river as a soul of soul to the city. Finally, the river is presented as a metaphor of destruction and oppression, as the building of aqueduct threatens the lives of some people. Ultimately, it’s clear that nature imagery abounds in the text through the exploration of the river. Read More