Prairie Madness
Prairie Madness is name given to a conditional experience somewhat common among white settlers on the plains in which the combination of psychological isolation and the physical desolation of the land contributed to a kind of mental impairment. Because this condition is pretty much limited to the experience of the settlers, the author does not directly address it, but there is one passage where the imagery is highly suggestive that the condition was not entirely limited to later settlers:
“All things in the plain are isolate; there is no confusion of objects in the eye, but one hill or one tree or one man. To look upon that landscape in the early morning, with the sun at your back, is to lose the sense of proportion. Your imagination comes to life, and this, you think, is where Creation was begun.”
The Climate of the Plains
Imagery is quite effectively put to use in describing the wide range of weather conditions faced by those who called the untamed plains of Oklahoma their home. The author begins by declaring a premise and follows that premise with imagery as supporting evidence:
“The hardest weather in the world is there. Winter brings blizzards, hot tornadic winds arise in the spring, and in summer the prairie is an anvil's edge. The grass turns brittle and brown, and it cracks beneath your feet… At a distance in July or August the steaming foliage seems almost to writhe in fire.”
Devil’s Tower
The instantly recognizable geological formation known as Devil’s Tower receives the full benefit of having the tribal legend of its origin story told in the book. It is a story about seven sisters and a brother who becomes a bear and is appropriately interesting as origin myths tend to be. Nevertheless, it is a singular piece of modern imagery that really burnishes the full dimension of the natural landmark into the consciousness of the reader:
“There are things in nature that engender an awful quiet in the heart of man; Devil's Tower is one of them.”
Painting with Words
The description of the Rockies is a textbook example of how to use imagery. The author paints a picture of a meadow sloping toward the mountains in a way that takes advantage of perceptual perspective with the precision of an artist. One can very easily create that picture in their mind and though artistry might vary considerably, the image in the minds would likely be quite similar:
“Descending eastward, the highland meadows are a stairway to the plain. In July the inland slope of the Rockies is luxuriant with flax and buckwheat, stonecrop and larkspur. The earth unfolds and the limit of the land recedes. Clusters of trees, and animals grazing far in the distance, cause the vision to reach away and wonder to build upon the mind…and the sky is immense beyond all comparison.”
