Nature in The Art of Travel and How Mountains Dominic Law 11th Grade

Distinctive representations of the symbiotic relationship between natural landscapes and people are reinforced through personal and socio-cultural contexts. Such representations can be brought about through travel, often renewing an individual’s relationships between real, imagined and remembered landscapes, also their identity. Alain de Botton’s non-fiction, multi-modal novel ‘The Art of Travel’ profoundly explores the personal and esoteric experiences of the sublime landscape facilitating the narrator’s augmented recognition of identity through the eclectic mix of artists and writers. Similarly, Emily Dickinson’s poem ‘How the old mountains drip with sunset’ (How mountains) explores nature’s overwhelming beauty as an influence on humanity through the narrator’s perceived image of the sunset. Although both texts provoke a profound understanding of an individual’s identity, their experience of landscape is diverse.

It is human nature for individuals to crave exploration of exotic landscapes that evoke a sense of appreciation in their monotonous lives that in turn, heighten their self-awareness. Through the distinctive representation of ‘The Exotic’ landscape in ‘The Art of Travel’, de Botton reveals his appreciation for beauty...