There was a deep silence, only scraped on its surfaces by the faint quiver of empty seed-plumes, and broken grass-blades trembling in small air-movements they could not feel. 'Not a bird!' said Sam mournfully. 'No, no birds,' said Gollum. 'Nice birds!' He licked his teeth. 'No birds here. There are snakeses, wormses, things in the pools. Lots of things, lots of nasty things. No birds,' he ended sadly. Sam looked at him with distaste.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the absence of life and the unease of desolation in a once vibrant place. It captures a sense of mourning for what is lost in nature.
In this passage from J. R. R. Tolkien, the deep silence and the description of forlorn elements of nature highlight a profound absence of life, symbolized by the lack of birds and the presence of unsettling creatures. Sam's mournfulness contrasts with Gollum's strange acceptance of this stark reality, evoking themes of loss, the harshness of nature, and a longing for the beauty that once existed. The imagery conveys a sense of bleakness and the quiet but significant impact that the environment has on emotions.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about the impact of environmental changes on wildlife.
All the same, I should like it all plain and clear," said he obstinately, putting on his business manner (usually reserved for people who tried to borrow money off him), and doing his best to appear wise and prudent and professional and live up to Gandalf's recommendation. "Also I should like to know about risks, out-of-pocket expenses, time required and remuneration, and so forth"--by which he meant: "What am I going to get out of it ? and am I going to come back alive?
Go not to the Elves for counsel,_x000D_ for they will say both no and yes._x000D_ Elves seldom give unguarded advice,_x000D_ for advice is a dangerous gift,_x000D_ even from the wise to the wise,_x000D_ and all courses may run ill.
What did I tell you, Mr. Pippin?' said Sam, sheathing his sword. 'Wolves won't get him. That was an eye-opener, and no mistake! Nearly singed the hair off my head!
Under the Mountain dark and tall The King has come unto his hall! His foe is dead, the Worm of Dread, And ever so his foes shall fall. The sword is sharp, the spear is long, The arrow swift, the Gate is strong; The heart is bold that looks on gold; The dwarves no more shall suffer wrong. The dwarves of yore made mighty spells, While hammers fells like ringing bells In places deep, where dark things sleep, In hollow halls beneath the fells. -from The Hobbit (Dwarves Battle Song)
The chief purpose of life, for any of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks.
Alive without breath, As cold as death; Never thirsty, ever drinking, All in mail never clinking.
The wooing of the Earth thus implies much more than converting the wilderness into humanized environments. It means also preserving natural environments in which to experience mysteries transcending daily life and from which to recapture, in a Proustian kind of remembrance, the awareness of the cosmic forces that have shaped humankind.
There is no closed figure in nature. Every shape participates with another. No one thing is independent of another, and one thing rhymes with another, and light gives them shape.
I am glad I will not be young in a future without wilderness.
I want to get out in the water. I want to see fish, real fish, not fish in a laboratory.
Let the rain kiss you._x000D_ _x000D_ Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops._x000D_ _x000D_ Let the rain sing you a lullaby._x000D_ _x000D_ The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk._x000D_ _x000D_ The rain makes running pools in the gutter._x000D_ _x000D_ The rain plays a little sellp-song on our roof at night-_x000D_ _x000D_ And I love the rain.
With its array of gadgets and machines, all powered by energies that are destructive of land or air or water, and connected to work, market, school, recreation, etc., by gasoline engines, the modern home is a veritable factory of waste and destruction. It is the mainstay of the economy of money. But within the economies of energy and nature, it is a catastrophe. It takes in the world's goods and converts them into garbage, sewage, and noxious fumes-for none of which have we found a use.
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