The word landscape can be used to refer to two important definitions of the word. The two definitions comprise of the external landscape and the internal landscape. The external landscape does not only refer to the visual context but also refers to the geographical aspect and climate. The relationship between landscapes is what defines a good narrative context. An individual needs to understand that the word landscape does not only refer to having the knowledge of names and identity of everything in the landscape but also perceiving the relationship between different elements in the landscape.
The internal landscape on the other hand refers to the kind of projection within an individual as part of the external landscape. These relationships in the internal landscape have purpose and order. What is referred to as the mind is a set of relationships in the internal landscape that is purposeful and has order. This means that both the internal and the external landscapes work in reflex mode.
The shape of an individual mind is affected directly or indirectly by land. This is because the shape and relationship in the way an individual thinks is greatly influenced by the geographical movement of an individual, what one interacts with and the observable patterns in ones nature. The thoughts of a person are determined by the development process of one’s spiritual and moral life.
The nature of land is what determines whether a storyteller is able to understand the contents of the story. Therefore, the main objective of the storyteller should be to bring out the aspects contained in the land. The understanding of a story is not always the same with different individuals. The storyteller should therefore target the level of understanding of the primary reader. The story on the other hand should focus on; the person present, when the event occurred, where the event occurred and what triggered an event to occur.
The first part of the essay is used to seek a descriptive detail and evoke intimacy between the story and the landscape hence an individual acquires a sense of place. Lopez recalls the wolverine stories by the Nunamiut because of the fact that a story is what guides our metaphorical lives. No one can actually acknowledge that the things that the Nunamiut people spoke of were true. The wolverine stories therefore trigger a metaphorical representation of the exterior landscape with regards to the internal landscape hence the story is subjected to vivid imagination.
The relationship between vocabulary, landscape and storytelling is that the three aspects have to be used co-currently. One of the factors that make an individual prefer a particular story is having the ability to identify with the characters in the story. Bringing the three aspects together creates an art of storytelling that helps an individual experience a more profound sense of well being. Vocabulary plays a crucial role in the general plot of a story and Lopez uses certain vocabularies in his storytelling to invoke the reader and establish close relationship between the internal and the external landscape.
Lopez thinks of the Navajo people due to the fact that in the Navajo, the elements present in an individual’s interior life are subject to a persistent principle of moral disarray (Lopez pg.223). The spiritual invocation by the Navajo makes an individual reflect on the relationship between the internal and the external landscapes.
Work cited
Lopez Barry & Lopez Barry Holstun. Of Wolves and men, New York: Scribner Classics, (2004).