Based on the works of Irving, Crevecoeur, and Smith, the perspective of rural life entails a number of issues that defines and shapes the regions. The way of living in rural America draws diverging opinions as some people see it as a peaceful environment while others perceive it as a remote zone dominated by the aspect of culture and other unique practices. Even though Irving, Smith, and Crevecoeur’s works pinpoint some key similarities in rural life in America, their opinions further differ significantly based on the lifestyle and perception of the remote settings.
Smith and Irving both depict rural life in isolated and remote areas of America as peaceful and beautiful. While Smith expresses the beauty of the place with the availability of beautiful sandy and rocky cliffs, Irving does so by pointing out the natural relief of the villages. Smith also believes that life in the remote parts of America is healthy and that there is an abundant food supply from the fertile soil. In addition, Smith describes the people living in the areas as industrious and energetic. However, Irving depicts that rural life is centered on cultural beliefs such as myths which explain the people’s behavior, characteristics, and origin. On the contrary, Crevecoeur describes the rural life in the remote parts of America as primitive, lacks order, and compares the people with wild animals.
As depicted in the Description of New England, rural life is peaceful, healthy, and abundant in the food supply. Smith et al. assert that there was plenty of food in the rural areas because of the fertile soils and the sea that supported fishing. The soil in the region supports any crop one wants to plant, including grains and fruits. According to Smith et al. (37), “… the Country of the Massachu- sets, which is the Paradise of all those parts: for, heere are many Iles all planted with corn; groups, mulberry- ries, salvage gardens, and good harbors.” In addition, the places such as Namkek looked so beautiful, full of sandy and rock cliffs. Due to the good soils which support a variety of crops and the availability of fish, there is a constant supply of food; hence the people there are goodly strong and well proportioned. To assert the healthy life of the place, Captain John claims that all the twenty-five people he had for company were perfectly healthy except for two who were initially ill because of the poor accommodation they had received and some other factors.
Additionally, the aspect of rural life is full of hard work. As described in the text, a Description of New England, fishing is the main activity in the rural area. The people in the area labor so hard in the open sea all the seasons to make a living (Smith 23). They then exchange the commodity for other products such as wood, flux, pitch, tar, resin, and cordage with the French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Englishmen (Smith 24). However, Smith asserts that he would prefer to live in the rural sides of New England among all the four areas he has ever visited.
Irving’s writing, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow depicts rural life as peaceful and natural. One of the described villages is called Tarry Town, near which a small valley is located two miles away (Irving 5). According to Irving (5), “The isolated valley is a lap of land among high hills and is one of the quietest places in the world.” It has a small brook running through it, with just the right amount of murmur to put one to sleep.
Irving reveals that people in rural or isolated areas believe in myths to explain nature and people’s behavior. The habitats and their neighborhood invented a myth to explain the peaceful nature of the place and the people’s culture. One myth asserts that the location was bewitched by a high German doctor, while another states that an elderly Indian chief organized powwows in the area a long time ago (Irving 6). This isolated glen has long gone by the moniker SLEEPY HOLLOW because of the place’s desolate repose and the odd nature of its residents, who are decedents of the first Dutch settlers (Irving 7). Myths are part of cultures and are used to pass the cultural values to the next generation. The belief in the myths shows that rural life is still based on traditional values.
However, according to Crevecoeur, life in isolated areas is very primitive. The people are far from the government’s reach and hence tend to live independent lives from government control (De Crevecoeur 5). They are a combination of different people forced into the areas due to several calamities and problems. The people are driven into the area by misfortunes, the need to start over, the desire to acquire enormous land areas, idleness, frequent lack of economy, and old debts (De Crevecoeur 5). According to Crevecoeur (5), “The reunion of such individuals does not make for a very pleasant spectacle.” Conflict, inactivity, and wretchedness inevitably follow since there is conflict, a lack of unity and camaraderie, and when either intoxication or inactivity rules in such isolated places. The solutions to these ills differ from those in a long-established community. They are frequently engaged in a complete state of war—man against man, sometimes decided by physical violence and sometimes with wild animals (De Crevecoeur 5). The people are comparable to the carnivorous animals in eating the flesh of wild animals they hunt.
Men in these areas are solely dependent on their inborn temperaments and the spur of shaky industry, which frequently fails when not anointed by the efficacy of a few moral laws. These are the first places in America where one will observe the labors of settlement and the mode of clearing the earth in all their manifestations (De Crevecoeur 5). Numerous families display the most repulsive aspects of American culture there, away from the influence of example and the check of shame. The writer asserts that the areas need redemption from the barbarous lives people live there (De Crevecoeur 5). The salvation will make room for more hardworking individuals who will finish their improvements, convert the log house into a comfortable habitation, and rejoice that the first heavy labors are complete. The area needs to be changed into a fine, fertile, well-regulated district in a few years.
In conclusion, Smith and Irving depict rural life as peaceful and healthy. Both assert that rural areas are full of beautiful sceneries, such as valleys, hills, and sandy and rocky cliffs. Smith reveals that the soils in rural areas support agriculture and a variety of crops. In addition, Smiths depicts the people as industrious, fishing and trading with different such as the Portuguese, Spanish and English people. Irving describes rural life as one anchored on beliefs and traditional values. The people use myths to help others understand their unique nature, cultural values, and beliefs. However, Crevecoeur’s writing depicts rural life in isolated areas as primitive and archaic. The places are far from government control and, therefore, full of unresolved conflicts hence the uncivilized nature of the people.
Works Cited
De Crevecoeur, Michel-Guillaume Jean. “What is an American?” Letter III of Letters from an American Farmer.” (1782). Web.
Irving, Washington, and Harriet Marie Johnson. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Gregg Publishing Company, 1901. Web.
Smith, John. “A Description of New England (1616): An Online Electronic Text Edition.” 2006. Web.