Law of Nature versus Law of Man - Literature review Example

Law of Nature versus Law of Man Deliverance by James Dickey is an action-packed novel articulating the experiences of four men as they embark upon a journey along the untamed Cahulawassee River and through the wild hills of northern Georgia. The book was soon attacked by critics for its inappropriate content and violent language that graphically detailed objectionable events in the book. Apart from the criticisms, Dickey has described an excellent battle between man and nature whereby the characters come to realize their weaknesses in the process. The author cleverly describes the disproportionality of this conflict between man and nature where the superiority of nature is inevitable, as noted by Sigmund Freud in his book, Civilization and Its Discontents. Having previously considered themselves to be strong, the characters realize their true strengths and weaknesses by the end of the journey along with some unfortunate happenings that change their lives forever. In a state of helplessness, similar to the condition described by Freud to be imminent in a child, the four men find themselves to be fighting nature in pursuit for their own survival. And it is the same human instinct for survival which causes them to pave ways that pull them through difficult situations against the powerful force of nature. Thus, Dickey’s book is a unique articulation of man’s challenge to nature along with his pursuit for survival in the most deadly cases because man will after all be inferior to the forces of nature. As Drew, Lewis, Ed, and Bobby decide to take a few days off on a regular weekend to journey in a canoe along the Cahulawassee River – which is known to be quite untamed – Lewis seems to be quite confident of his abilities and tells the rest how the river is “wild and beautiful” (Dickey, 4). Bobby does mention that the men know nothing of canoeing, but confident as Lewis is, he remarks that there is nothing too difficult about canoeing suggesting that it is nothing to worry about. Even Drew had earlier warned of going on the trip where not a single one of them had an idea of the woods and rivers. “We don’t really know what we’re getting into,” Drew had said (Dickey, 7). However, Lewis’ confidence in himself and his abilities override the cautiousness that should have been taken. His body language as well as his speech affirmed his confidence. Despite this confidence, the four men do not realize that the journey they have chosen to take is riddled with deadly obstacles and life-threatening hurdles, all of which will force the men to fight for their survival against the mighty forces of nature. To this situation, Freud described that many of human sufferings in civilizations are a product of the inevitable superior powers of the nature that works by its own process dictated by a cyclic procedure of the external environment (Freud, 8). Lewis had been a little too believing of his own strengths that he seemed to ignore the superiority of nature over the laws of man, which later cost him his leg. Freud had explained the superiority of nature in his book very well and the ignorance of instinctive warnings before caused them to get caught in the jaws of nature. None of the men knew how to deal with natural obstacles such as rivers or forests, but Lewis insisted that this could be a great experience. Although the journey was meant to be a mild break from their fast-paced lives, the event proved to be dangerously adventurous for them. Canoeing along the fast flowing waters of the Cahulawassee River was no easy task as Lewis had expected. Perhaps the troubles for all four men had been the result of this fallacious miscalculation of risks. But, the men were too far along their journey to turn back. Each of the four men ends up facing several obstacles that each tries to resolve by different means unique to himself. The law of nature is in fact above man-made laws and is meant to be respected and not violated for sheer fun. Due to ignorance and over-confidence in oneself, the journey turns treacherous as it proceeds with many life-changing happenings along the process. Lewis’ overconfidence over his strengths costs him his leg as their canoe gets capsized towards the rapids. Dickey mentions that Lewis had every useful resource but had not utilized it quite well (Dickey, 240). Lewis also wanted to live in immortality; This was another stance which went against the law of nature. Mortality of the elements of the world is the true essence. After Lewis lost his leg, his implied role of leader was smashed by the powers of nature thereby bringing down his vanity of having initiated the journey. This leads to another concept pointed out by Freud where the body of an individual as a natural artifact is prone to the sufferings that result from living in a civilization. These are again inevitable considering the frailty of the human body, which is exposed to the dangers of living in a civilization among many of other organisms. So, Freud has explained the frailty of the human body in terms of its helplessness to nature although such a limitation could be overcome by human developments. Lewis had already realized his failure as he lost his leg. Yet many others among the four man team had to realize their true strengths and weaknesses in the face of threats from nature as well as nature’s artifacts in the wilderness of north Georgian hills. Along their harmful journey across the hills, they come across uncivilized hill dwellers. These hillbillies mercilessly rape Bobby for whom the event had been an experience which will scar him for life. Bobby knows that he will never be the same after this unfortunate happening to which three of his friends are also witnesses. A feeling of shame and embarrassment took over as Bobby feared others finding out about his weakness. Bobby had been a smart city dwelling man but the experience allowed him to know the way things happen in the hilly region. The event allowed him to know how nature runs and how things happen beyond the city life and that such wilderness is also possible in a place where one once remained detached from the ways of the uncivilized hill dwellers. Freud explains that such a hostility and conflict with nature results from one’s resentment over its social limitations and constraints that are experienced (Freud, 2). The events that happened for both Lewis and Bobby had been unfortunate however they showed how nature runs and the mighty power of nature which cannot be conquered by disorganized human interventions. Despite several criticisms, Dickey’s book successfully communicates a clear message regarding disorganized human tinkering with nature. As the four men leave for their journey, they open themselves up to the risks brought to them by nature. A central theme of the story is the nature’s system of reward and risk. Although sometimes, risks may result in failure, making an attempt to risk something ultimately results in reward. For Lewis, he realized his true strengths and weaknesses as he lost his leg after taking the lead for the former half of the journey. This event helped him realize that nature was the powerful phenomenon and that no matter how confident man could get with the available resources, things could actually go wrong, against the things planned. For Bobby, he realized how nature runs in the uncivilized and untamed part of the country where wilderness ruled and not the law of man. This is what Freud has pointed out in his book as well, that the law of nature inevitably applies to every being dwelling in this world and that the forces of nature possess superior power. Freud also explained that man was limited by such natural forces although he tried to overcome these limitations by advancing science, technology, and medicine (Freud, 13). However hostile nature was, it provides the means for our survival and existence. For Ed, he took the risk of climbing the dangerous cliff however with steady effort, he reached the top allowing to take a beautiful view of the nature. Works Cited Top of Form Dickey, James. Deliverance. Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin, 1970. Print. Bottom of Form Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Buckinghamshire: Chrysoma Associates Limited, 2005. Electronic Version. Read More