The representation of nature has no definite or uniform shape, but rather the ability to change from author to author as liquid. Thus the image of the snake and the poem by Theodore Roethke, "The Snake," vary. The former is volatile, vicious, threatening, as it stands with jaws parted slightly. The latter shows respect, gives a dignity to the serpent that repulses so many.
So many times students hear that they are to "paint the picture," they miss a certain concept of communication. The image of the snake has an entirely different connotation than the poem. It is not merely an image that captures the emotion behind words. That is precisely the reason literature is beautiful. It is always more than a picture. In such a way, the poem represents not only the image of a serpent, but the thoughts of the author as he stands watching it's actions, not with loathing or fear, but with a sense of awe. Roethke displays not revulsion, but respect, and not disgust, but a longing to become more like "the pure, sensuous form." He reflects a moment in American history that reveres nature for the simple fact that it is nature.
The photo is not so kind to the reptile. It fears, it keeps its distance, it shows no connection to the snake. It's nature is insignificant. It's evil becomes the focus, a threat in full display. The dichotomy between the two representations of the snake shows the constant shift in the focus of American literature. At one moment the literature adores the symbolic and natural, the next it reasons through the danger. Smooth, slick scales that bask in the sun seize the attention at one moment, but the next, visions of fangs force one to back away.
Therefore, the two representations speak not only of snakes, but of a tendency of humanity. Perhaps we see the beauty in the world at first glance, but on closer inspection, we find an ugly truth. Literature is simply a reflection of our observations. It is the reflection of those that we chose to place before the mirror of our writing.
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