Lopez was a naturalist, and so it makes sense that his focus on the Arctic is mainly on its animal and plant life, although human activity is not excluded, including Lopez's own. Sometime, the two dovetail perfectly, as when Inuit began making annual visits to Mercy Bay on Banks Island to harvest useful objects and material from the wreck of Robert McClure's ship HMS Investigator. Lopez is not so much interested in that ship (which was rediscovered in 2010) as he is in the fact that the Inuit who made this trip hunted copious numbers of muskoxen -- and it's this creature, not human beings, that he has come to describe and rhapsodize.
Similarly, in the following chapter, he follows the Arctic's best-known super predator, the polar bear or Ursus Maritimus. Aboard a ship in the Chuchki Sea, he and his comrades finally spot one -- and here Lopez performs his customary magic of description and human deprivation:
Our presence was interference. We approached as slowly as before, and he turned to glower, treading water, opening his mouth—the gray tongue, the pale violet mouth, the white teeth—to hiss. He paddled away abruptly to a large floe and again catapulted from the water, shook his fur out, and started across the ice to open water on the far side. We let him go. We watched him, that undeterred walk of authority.
Almost as if by magic, Lopez erases Lopez from the picture that he himself has painted, and with his disembodied gaze brings the life of the region vividly into presence. We are prepared, by this majestic apparition, for the somewhat lengthy biological treatise to follow. We get knowledge, yes, but also a picture of the limitations of knowledge, particularly with a creature who has only lately received careful study. Many of the polar bear biologists I've worked with myself in the Arctic are only in the second or third generation (if one thinks of professors and their students in this way) from the first biologists to study them.
Lopez also has, and uses, a wide and varied vocabulary; he tosses in rich words like susurration, irenic, and refugia with the skill of a chef larding a succulent cut of meat, and never fails to give any plant or animal its scientific name. And yet, at the same time, like some sort of earthbound Carl Sagan, he manages to engage us and keep us engaged, delighting as he instructs, and zooming in and out to give us the big picture even as he focuses on a blade of tundra grass. The Arctic, we come to realize, is a kind of laboratory for life, for creatures that can find sustenance in a cold and dry land, a land whose sun alternately shines too much or not enough, a land where unpredictability is predictable. It's a perfect beginning to our awareness of the fragility of this place, and why and how it has come to be the "canary in the coal mine" of climate change.
ReplyDeleteI found the first four chapters of Lopez his novel to be very interesting and especially his talks about animals.
I think the animal that I found the most interesting was when he was talking about polar bears. On page 85, Lopez says “polar bears apparently moved into the Arctic only very recently, sometime in the middle or late Pleistocene. A population of brown bears, the prevailing theory goes, became isolated in Siberia and quickly evolved into polar bears.” Lopez goes on to explain the differences and similarities between polar bears and brown bears and I think it’s really interesting that they have so many similarities that I have no idea about. I had recently before reading this book thought that polar bears had been in the Arctic for a very long time perhaps even before 12,000 years ago. I was under the assumption that these polar bears had been around since maybe the dawn of the Arctic. The way that he describes the differences in the bodies and the build and the mannerisms of these bears is very beautiful and he goes very in depth more than I think that I ever needed to know about polar bears and brown bears. In my creative writing workshop I read a story by Barry Lopez about flight and it was a very beautiful narrative about the different kind of flights you been on and kind of branched off talking about consumerism and capitalism and I think it’s very interesting that Lopez kind of talks about global warming in a way but through animals
Isabella Santoro
A great comment, Isabella! The "late Pleistocene" -- which is also when humans first arrived in the Arctic -- is a long era stretching from about 130,000 years ago to 12,000 years ago, so the bears may indeed have been in the Arctic for what we'd think of as a very long time. Interestingly, global warming in recent years has led to grizzly bears moving further north and polar bears further south -- they two are still branches of the same species in origin -- and thus the appearance of a new hybrid, variously known as a "growler" or "pizzlies" -- their evolutionary history is still being written.
DeleteRather than a work of non-fiction, Arctic Dreams often feels much more like a poetic endeavor - Far beyond a simple examination of the arctic wilderness and a collection of the facts thereupon, Lopez essentially describes the relationship between man, nature, and his own origins, often to the point of deep psychological introspection. In particular, he paints a picture of the arctic environment not only replete with ecological data, but with such vivacity as to convince the reader that the landscape itself is alive.
ReplyDeleteThe main thing that stuck out to me with this book is Barry Lopez's descriptions about the various arctic animals he has seen. I love animals - I have since I was little - and they are the main reason why I am majoring in environmental studies. I really enjoyed learning a little more about different arctic animals in this book. For example, I didn't know that it doesn't take very long before polar bears start to overheat, which makes me concerned about how they will react to global warming. I also didn't know that Muskoxen were almost driven to extinction by over-hunting, so I'm glad that they are doing better now. Overall, I found the book to be a great mixture of personal experiences in the arctic, facts about the different animals, and the history between humans and said animals.
ReplyDelete- Elliot Varone
ReplyDeleteA striking description of the muskox that Lopez uses, out of all the beautiful imagery that he depicts, is the assertion that the animals themselves have "personalities" (55), a loaded term connected with different idea Gerrard describes in his description of the discourse surrounding anthropocentrism. But in making this observation, here in relation to the ways that different herds of muskox behave and interact, Lopez seems to be making these assertions without the notion of imprinting human understanding of emotions or utility onto these creatures, but only to highlight their ability to perform as individuals, suggesting at least the possibility of rich inner lives among them. As well, Lopez depicts the female polar bear, while denning with cubs, as making choices, highlighting on page 79 the several that she will have to make relative to her and her cubs safety. This level of subjectivity, and the ability to monitor that of others, is in line with the commentary of the elements of perspective, observation and perception as described by John Berger in the Garrard essay "Animals". Lopez in different passages appears aware of this element of perception, describing his perception of the animals, their perception of him and other researchers, and perception of the Western researchers relative to the indigenous groups in the areas they work.
ReplyDelete-Daniel Grothaus
"Arctic Dreams" has given me a thorough understanding of animals that reside in the Arctic, how they are able to survive, and how their populations have either dwindled or grown. It seems consistent that scientists still don't understand the regrowth of certain populations and also don't understand the extinction of certain animals. It was very interesting to read that humans have continuously been responsible for the elimination of certain species, whether it be birds, land animals. It also wasn't intentional but interesting to read about. This book for me was a harder read and will take another take for me to be able to digest the direct efforts made by Lopez to paint a vivid picture of the Arctic's beauty.
ReplyDelete-Hannah
Before reading this, I had never thought much of how animals lived in the arctic. My knowledge stopped at the point of knowing polar bears resided there. It saddended me to learn what devastation is occuring in the arctic and the extinction of certain specias. Humans are always the ones responsible for the extinction of animals, even when we're not trying to.
DeleteCelia Suraski
I enjoyed reading these first few chapters because of the way Barry loves animals. It's so evident the fascination that he holds for the animals he came across. He has such a great relationship with nature. There's so much information on these animals that I had no prior knowledge to. While traveling to Alaska I feel like Barry learned a lot and grew a lot with the experiences he had. It gave me a better understanding to this region and sheds light to the world that these animals live in. I thought it was really sad reading about the eskimos and how they are struggling to survive. They take a huge toll with the conditions they live in. Its admirable and I think Barry sheds light on it with such empathy and knowledge.
ReplyDelete-Mirna Soto Razo
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ReplyDeleteIn the later chapters of Arctic Dreams, Lopez seems to highlight issues of perception and experience with regard to the arctic, in different times and in different passages exploring these issues through the competing motivations of the people that exist there over history and his brief time there. Through science, exploration, extraction, and glory, Lopez seems to relay that understanding the arctic under these conditions is at best an incomplete view of what the arctic is, creating a view that is narrowed and distorted by motivations and preconceptions of the land. Many of the descriptions of historic arctic voyages have elements of this, with deadly decisions of different English voyages being animated by epistemological convictions of technological and intellectual superiority over the realities of the landscape. Even the modern scientists that Lopez camps with seem to be at least tangentially aware of their limitations of scope in their perception. In contrast to all of this is the native people of these regions, who are described as living within the landscape instead of apart from it. The description of certain hunting rituals makes clear a moral attitude of oneness with the environment, and the game as having equal and intrinsic value within it, as opposed to a simple commodity.
ReplyDelete-Daniel Grothaus
It's very interesting to me how many people have tried to conquer the Arctic. Many people in Europe assumed that the poles were warm and fruitful places, so many of the people who went there were very unprepared. It's interesting thinking about the different points of view people have on the Arctic. Some people view it as a useless piece of ice, others view it as another place to colonize, and others still admire it for its natural beauty. When I watched the short film, it was just a reminder to me of how cruel the Arctic can be. Even though the Eskimos have lived there for many years and know how to survive there, they aren't completely safe either. As beautiful as the Arctic is, it can be just as hostile and unforgiving.
ReplyDelete- Elliot Varone
I am so in love with the way Lopez writes in this novel. As someone who has not traveled to colder climates (besides a day trip to Maine) I have absolutely no personal experience with weather conditions or animal life even similar to the Arctic. Through the book, Lopez describes the Arctic so intimately that not only do I feel like I am seeing an accurate version of the Arctic in my mind for the first time, but I also get a good sensory feeling of the area too. As a creative writer, his descriptions are a great inspiration. His description of a polar bear is an epic showcase of a monster. In previous workshops, many classmates including myself have tried to write tales of monsters and struggled to personify them. Reading Lopez’s descriptions of the polar bears, like the one in the blog post, I am able to see the polar bear moving in great detail. The tongue is terrifying, and I can hear the hiss in my ears as I’m mentally watching the polar bear shift into a defensive being.
ReplyDeleteK Ferragamo
I enjoyed the first few chapters because the passion that Lopez has for the Arctic as well as for the Arctic animals is evident. The way he describes the polar bears going into detail of its fur and mouth is moving, he describes the polar bear as the Arctic apex predator. Lopez shares his experience and observations with the reader which allows us to have a mental visualization of what the Arctic really is.
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