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Nature and culture (both problematic concepts)

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Nature and culture (both problematic concepts)

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"'So,' [Bishon Singh] scolded, 'now it has come to this. To walk is not enough. To ride a horse is not enough. Now people must go from place to place through the air, like a diki toora. Nothing but trouble will come of it, Beru. God spits upon such blasphemy" (ch. IV/pg. 52)

What endings and beginning take place when the difference between nature (animals to include humans) and culture (airplanes and humans with an uncheck and unlimited capacity to invent new technologies) are erased?

Dr. Abarca

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"'Now,' Coquette says it with her eyes and with her wordless voice, 'Now--perhaps now--'

This is the moment, and the Promised Land is the forgotten one" (Ch. X/pg. 125)

Perhaps not the ending of a desire to search and reach for the "Promised Land"--whatever we might mean this to be--but a reminder as Coquette says with her wordless voice, the birth of life is here, in the present moment. Clearly, Coquette is literally giving birth, but B. Markham brings us to life as it unfolds in the moment of ... now.

Dr. Abarca

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Bery Markham describes different journeys she embarked on at different stages of her life. If we were to read these travels of her life as forms of secular pilgrimages--what were the sacred centers she was searching for and did she find them?

This passage hold an answer to this question for me: "All this, and discontent too! Otherwise, why am I sitting here dreaming of England? Why am I grazing at this campfire like a lost soul seeking a hope when all that I love is at my wingtips? Because I am curious. Because I am incorrigibly now, a wanderer" (Ch. XIX/pg.241)

Dr. Abarca

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How does Beryl Markham display her compassionate and humanistic side in her interactions with animals and nature? 

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How does Beryl Markham display her compassionate and humanistic side in her interactions with animals and nature? 

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Beryl Markham’s memoir explores her interactions with animals such as Buller, her loyal dog. While Markham has many other interactions and relationships, one of the most impacting ones is with Buller as they set out to explore Africa together. Buller dies defending Markham in an act of selflessness and devotion to his owner. I feel that, as a reader, I learned more about Markham when she is accompanied by either Buller or one of her horses. For example, Markham shows her tenacity when she trains Wise Child in a humane and respectful way. Her skills are highlighted, and her ability to see an animal as her equal.

“He licks my hand, and I think he knows I can do nothing but forgives me for it. I cannot leave him because the light is almost gone now and there are leopards that prowl at night, and hyenas that attack only the wounded and helpless” (Markham 96).

-Grisel H.

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Value of human bonds, hinder by social beliefs 

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Value of human bonds, hinder by social beliefs 

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"What a child does not know and does not want to know of race and colour and class, he learns soon enough as he grows to see each man flipped inexorably into some predestined groove like a penny or a sovereign in a banker's rack. Kibii, the Nandi boy, was my good friend. Arab Ruta, who sits before me, is my good friend, but the handclasp will be shorter, the smile will not be so eager on his lips, and though the path is for a while the same, he will walk behind me now, when once, in the simplicity of our nonage, we walked together" (Ch. XII/ pg. 149)

The realization the connecting with others through our share humanity is often short lived. The recognition of social dictates that group us into categories with prescribe roles to play out--the categories of class, race, color, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and the list goes on...

Dr. Abarca

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"Tom had kept me from a trip and Arab Ruta had asked a question. They had known, and I have wondered how they knew, and I have found an answer for myself.

Denys was a keystone in an arch whose other stones were other lives. If a keystone trembles, the arch will carry the warning along its entire curve, then if the keystone is crushed, the arch will fall, leaving its lesser stones heaped close together, though for a while without design.

Denys' death left some lives without design, but they were rebuilt again, as lives and stones are, into other patterns" (Ch. XV/pg. 196).

A recognition that all of our life's journeys, while some paths do reach a dead-end, the journey itself continues even without knowing the destination.

Dr. Abarca

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Building meaning and the slow growth of self 

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Building meaning and the slow growth of self 

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“Elburgon is not a town; it is just a station on the Uganda Railway, one of many  entrances to a broad, familiar country. There, as at Njoro, my  house looks over the Rongai Valley and, as at Njoro, the Mau  Forest broods in resigned silence, close on the edges of fields fresh robbed of their ancient trees. I have a gallop where my  father still trains his horses and where I can land my  plane. Everything has been done — every material thing —  to give this place the aspect of benignity, of  friendship, of  tolerance and  conviviality, but the character of a  dwelling, like that of a  man,  grows slowly.The  walls of my  house are without memories,  or secrets, or laughter. Not  enough of life has been breathed into them — their warmth  is artificial; too few hands have turned the window  latches, too few feet have trod the thresholds. The boards of the floor, self-conscious as youth or falsely proud as the newly rich, have not yet unlimbered enough to utter a single cordial creak. In time they will, but not for me.”(241)

The intricacies of what constitutes the wholeness of something—at a macroscopic level, in this case, the town—further divide themselves into smaller compartments: railways that turn into roadways, which then lead to homes. These are all traces of what a country will be comprised of. At a microscopic level, it is the person who lives in the home. Markham’s confrontation with—and eventual acknowledgment of—the process of creating a home highlights this division. She contrasts the physical, the material elements of the house that literally and figuratively form its foundations, with another, more significant quality. Arguably, it is the most essential characteristic of a home: the emotional and personal experiences that give it life, warmth, and meaning. As someone of her caliber, continoulsy in motion, one may surmise that her living in the moment is natural and organically coming to her. However, i the context of her reflection of the places shes been to, ad in extenstion, her home, living in the moment requires inntentionality; it isnt found by rushing to fill a space, but alllowing it to develop organically with time. Markham’s realization that "everything has been done—every material thing—to give this place the aspect of benignity" suggests that the rush to perfect the external doesn’t always align with the deeper fulfillment that comes from living truly in a space, or in a life. Her home, as she refllects on, functions as a metaphor for the degree of what being established truly is. I liked that the retrospection and introspection revealed the how living in the moment is not a subconscious act, but one that requires one to be aware of the faculties it needs to be an active participant.

Jazmine Gracia

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In Beryl Markham's memoir, West With the Night, the interplay between nature and culture is intricately woven into her narrative, reflecting her profound connection to the African landscape and the cultural context in which she lived. Markham's descriptions of the natural world are not merely scenic backdrops; they serve as vital components of her identity and experiences as a pilot and adventurer. Her assertion, "The land is a living thing, and it is a part of me" (p. 78), encapsulates this deep bond, suggesting that her understanding of self is inextricably linked to the environment around her.

When considering the question, "What endings and beginnings take place when the difference between nature and culture are erased?" one can argue that Markham's narrative illustrates a transformative process. The erasure of boundaries between nature and culture allows for a more holistic understanding of identity, where personal and environmental experiences coalesce. In Markham's case, her adventures in the skies and her intimate encounters with the African landscape signify a beginning of self-discovery and empowerment, as she navigates both the physical and cultural terrains of her life.

This blending of nature and culture also invites a reevaluation of societal norms and expectations. As Markham defies traditional gender roles in her pursuit of aviation, she simultaneously challenges the cultural constructs that seek to confine her. The endings that emerge from this erasure are the limitations imposed by gender and societal expectations, while the beginnings are marked by a newfound sense of freedom and agency. In essence, Markham's memoir serves as a powerful testament to the idea that when the distinctions between nature and culture dissolve, individuals can embark on journeys of self-exploration that redefine their identities and challenge the status quo.

Through her narrative, Markham not only captures the beauty and challenges of the African landscape but also illustrates how the convergence of nature and culture can lead to profound personal transformations, ultimately reshaping one's understanding of freedom and identity.

Amy Mena

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“and I saw how a man can be master of a craft, and how a craft can be master of an element. I saw the alchemy of perspective reduce my world, and all my other life, to grains in a cup. I learned to watch, to put my trust in other hands than mine. And I learned to wander. I learned what every dreaming child needs to know — that no horizon is so far that you cannot get above it or beyond it. These I learned at once. But most things came harder" (Markham, 185).

As she reflects on the lessons she has learned, particularly through flying, this quote reflects and marks a moment of significant development. It shows a willingness to relinquish control and sometimes trust in others or outside forces.  Her mastery in the craft of flying, for example, encapsulated a balance needed between control for nature and humility that reflects this duality of life. Furthermore, it encapsulates Markham’s desire for exploration and freedom to explore that is beyond the conventional boundaries. And so, it marks a realization that no matter how distinct it may seem, sometimes important life lessons must be lived rather than learned to be understood. Therefore, Markham’s life becomes a record of the power of dreams and the courage to pursue them no matter how distant it may seem.

-Sandra Alba

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I believe book two resonated with me the most because of her specific exploration of how we live in different moments, like Dr. Abarca explains in her post. Thinking back to Solnit's exploration of self and our futures and how if we plan too hard, we may miss open doors in unexpected places, I go to her quote on page 68 (Kindle version, so may be different in print), where she states, "Why I ran at all or with what purpose in mind is beyond my answering, but when I had no specific destination I always ran as fast as I could in the hope of finding one - and I always found it." It brings back the idea that we've been exploring so far in the semester of slowing down, finding opportunities in unexpected places, and living in the moments that life gives us.

I think this is nicely paralleled in the next chapter, Chapter VIII, when Kibii states, "When the world began, each animal, even the Chameleon, had a task to do. I learned it from my father and grandfather, and all our people know this fact."

"The world began too long ago," I said - "longer than anybody could remember. Who could remember what the Chameleon did when the world began?"

As the conversation continues, Kibii goes on to state: "When the first man was made, he wandered alone in the great forest and on the plains, and he worried very much because he could not remember yesterday and he could not imagine tomorrow."

It shows the universal idea - or fear, maybe - of forgetting our pasts and dreading or stressing about our futures, which further ties into Solnit's concept of open doors.

I'm wondering what everyone else thought about the way Markham explored these open doors for herself, bringing to her life the content with which she would write this book?

-Julia Hettiger

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"He thrived in solitude...There were no physical barriers to his freedom, but the lions of the plains do not accept into their respected fraternity an individual bearing in his coat the smell of men."

The parts of this memoir that recount the memories of Paddy and the hunt for the boar were astonishing to me as they encapsulate the spirit of Beryl and her daring nature to push past boundaries that cross between man and nature. She seemed to really enjoy not only living in nature but experiencing its unpredictability. Just like Paddy, there "were no physical barriers to freedom." Although knocking on death's door, was it not worth leaving that door open and allowing the unknown into her life?

Paddy lived a long, interrupted life of solitude and seemed well-respected by the humans around him. Beryl seemed to admire him but also seemed to push past a line to see how far she could enter his world. Maybe not her smartest decision.

I truly enjoyed reading this memoir. I looked forward to every chapter as I felt I was part of Beryl's journey as we learned to fly and learned to live.

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"Always the weed returns; the cultured plant retreats before it. Racial purity, true aristocracy, devolve not from edict, nor from rote, but from the preservation of kinship with the elemental forces and purposes of life whose understanding is not further beyond the mind of a Native shepherd than beyond the cultured fumblings of a mortar-board intelligence.”

Markham is presenting/establishing herself as an insider (reminiscent of David-Néel), especially in the discussion of an insider versus European outsider view.While reading this memoir the constant question I had throughout it all is what exactly is Beryl Markham's relationship with nature (animals, horses) and machines (airplanes)? Not only individually but how these two contrasting elements work together for Markham. As well as how this question works with culture, race and human bonds. Markham, I found to be similar to David-Néel and Solint in the way that she lives in the present moment and what that means for knowing the unknown (the self).

-Ashley Estrada

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Book 2 of Markham's West With the Night propels us back to her childhood, recalling her near-death experience with a lion she calls Paddy. The lion appeared to set boundaries between himself and the people living and working at the Elkington farm, keeping mutual respect for one another. Markham attempts to cross the boundary, describes her entire experience, and provides insight into the lion's eventual fate after being rescued, "In the end, he was caught and finally caged, but brought to no rendezvous with the firing squad at sunrise. He remained for years in his cage, which he had managed to live in freedom with his inhibitions, he might never have seen at all" (66). Before her encounter, Markham notes that Paddy appeared domesticated and deaf, living freely on the Elkington farm. Though the lion seems harmless, as a child, Markham forgets that Paddy's natural environment is the East African landscape and has natural predator instincts. The almost death of Markham leads Paddy to be captured and confined into a cage, ending his open freedom. Paddy was eventually executed, which Markham laments on, stating, "He had lived and died in ways, not of his choosing. He was a good lion. He had done what he could about being a tame lion. Who thinks it just to be judged by a single error?" (66). Markham's memory of Paddy expresses the respect humans must have for nature and its animals so as not to cross its boundaries. Nature and animals in East Africa are extraordinarily beautiful but also extraordinarily dangerous; they cannot be assimilated into human living without being destroyed.

erin c.

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Facing A Lion in the Jungle and not being Afraid

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Facing A Lion in the Jungle and not being Afraid

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If I understand the question correctly, I believe the beginning takes place when we are first introduced and the ending takes place when we can recognize, on some level, that we can be one with the cruel beast that nature tends to be. In Beryl’s case, the beginning of her own erasure is growing up in Africa from a young age and evolving into an explorer wandering through African jungles barefooted, knowing exactly how avoid snakes without so much as breaking a sweat. In a metaphorical sense, Miss Markham’s beginning was being raised by the jungle and her ending was mastering the skill of looking at a grown lion in the face and not giving away any fear. Markham had more than one encounter with a lion but the most memorable encounter for me was when she and other hunters managed to slyly pass a lion even when they felt for certain the animal was about to pounce. But it didn’t and it leaves Markham feeling a bit sorry.

“And I was disappointed. Long after we had continued our trot toward the place where we knew there would be warthog, I thought how wonderful it would have been if the lion had attacked and I had been able to use my spear on him while he clawed at the shields of the two Murani, and how later they might have said, ‘If it hadn’t been for you, Lakweit…!’ But then, I was very young.”

Maybe in a way, she felt disappointed because she knew she had enough jungle experience to take on the lion if necessary. She was ready for him to attack. When we feel ready like that, it feels like we come to the end of some circle.

-Stephanie Aguilar

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“The sight of the jackal had brought to mind the scarcely comforting speculation that in Africa there is never any waste. Death particularly is never wasted. What the lion leave, the hyena feasts upon and what scraps remain are morsels for the jackal, the vulture, or even the consuming sun.”

(Book one, chapter 2, pg.45-46)

“I wonder if [Carl Hastings] ever married?” He used to say he never would, but nobody believed him. “He did, though,” I said. It was a name I had never heard, but it seemed a small enough gesture to lie about a nebulous Carl Hastings. (Book one, chapter 2, pg.55-56)

This stranger inquiring about another stranger was not a conversation going to waste. Bergner’s blackwater disease morphs his body into an appearance that reflects his critical condition. It disturbs Beryl, she confesses to this and any encounter with diseased people. Yet, this blackwater disease is not unfamiliar to her, nor the fact so many people die from it so easily that the immediate symptoms cause one to resign to their end. A common death from a common disease, yet this encounter resulting from a plea by Ebert, is one that serves in invigorating Beryl’s humanity. In continuity and life, this sickly man not only leaves behind an impact on our author through the comfort she feels obligated in providing to ease his delirium. He also passes on memories and a reflection that humans for all their self-aggrandizing gestures are ultimately mortal beings in whose last moments they let go of everything but their memories with dearly beloved. A pale and skinny near-cadaver; its body cannot feed animals but its reminder of what it is to be human serves as a nourishing spiritual meal.

-Oscar Ivan Montes

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"What but commonplace things could follow the meeting of two people on that elevated scrap of earth? How can the course of a life be changed by a word spoken on a dusty road — a pin-scratch of a road, itself short-lived and feeble against the mountain calloused crust of Africa? Where would a word fall except on the wind?" (161)

"But ten thousand flamingos on Lake Nakuru would be a number startling in its insignificance, and a hundred thousand

would barely begin the count." (161)

"I saw the alchemy of perspective reduce my world, and all my other life, to grains in a cup." (185)

While I understand that I don't necessarily need three quotes to serve as bulletproof evidence of a theme I noticed, I did find each to be striking in their own right.

Included in much of Beryl's reflection is a shift in perspective, measuring the significance of something against the backdrop of the world. My mind went two directions with this idea:

Firstly, I couldn't help but think of the saying "They look like ants from up here!" Which is typically said from the vantage point of an airplane. I wondered if this was a fixture of Beryl's mindset, given her pilot career, where she can't help but locate where ever she is on some greater scale, being so familiar with what it's like to be on top of the world, uncaring of all that happens below.

Then, my second reasoning, which did seem a bit more interesting before I explored the first reasoning more: Could Beryl be diminishing her own occupation with these moments? Perhaps not. I specifically considered this when she said, "as if this were the greatest race of all time, held on the greatest course, with

the world looking over my shoulder," To me it struck me as presenting oneself as silly for caring so much-- a habit typical for women especially. But maybe it doesn't have to be negative. It could just be a recognition of how enormous something seemingly obscure can impress on somebody.

Isabella Sanchez

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“A life has to move or it stagnates. Even in this life, I think. It is no good telling yourself that one day you will wish you had never made that change; It is no good anticipating regrets. Every tomorrow ought not to resemble every yesterday. Still, I look at my yesterday's for months past, and find them as good a lot of yesterdays as anybody might want… I have had responsibilities and work, dangers and pleasure, good friends, and a world without walls to live in. These things I still have, I remind myself – and shall have until I leave them” (Markham 238-239).

I understand that all of class is able to read this entry, but I could not help but be so closely reminded of my own struggles in the present day while reading Beryl Markham’s assemblage of memories entitled, West with the Night. I have heard many things about what youth, and especially our 20s, are supposed to feel or be like. My 20s began during the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby regulating most of my undergraduate experiences and education to Zoom University presented by the UT academic board. Markham, for more than survival, elects to live in the moment instead of contemplating what stresses might be hiding just out of readers’ views. What and how we choose to remember about our life journeys greatly varies, but what has a 23-year-old gay man born in the new millenium have in common with that of a middle-aged woman pilot that flew over great swaths of water and land? Frankly, I too look upon my yesterdays “and find them as good a lot of yesterdays as anybody might want,” since I have been fed, clothed, housed, and educated since my birth in 2001 (Markham 239). However, how can I contend with my privileged upbringing when it has brought me both success and failure; how am I to contend with both joy and depression when they seemingly exist in the same moment? How can I be grateful and so hateful simultaneously? It is in moments that our lives are made, one at a time and forever one after another until we should so choose to “leave them,” as Markham asserts should she ever make the decision herself to leave behind a life, a moment, a place, or a state of being that no longer serves her highest self (Markham 239). Pun intended. Agency is proving to be, by far, the most elusive part of growing up. They tell you that you are grown at 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, until you arrive at 30 either with extra weight, less hair, both if you’re as unlucky as most, or neither if you’re as lucky as the next guy or gal. When is it that we grow our wings? Or is it better to ask when precisely do we gain the courage to take off toward that destination? Beryl Markham, in her incredible saga of knowing and documenting an Africa – one scarred by Fascism, wealth inequality, and colonial shackles – that no longer exists, readers like me find answers to these questions of bravery: The courage to fly comes only in an accumulation of moments, arranged one right after another, that build toward that one moment that either we or Nature decides it is time for us to rest for the night, seek refuge with friends, or change course entirely.

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My story about his death is simple enough, but it proves for my own satisfaction the truth of a line contained in a remembrance of him which appeared in the London Times:

‘Something more must come from one so strong and gifted; and, in a

way, it did. …’

What came from him, if emanate is not the better word, was a force that bore inspiration, spread confidence in the dignity of life, and even gave sometimes a presence to silence. (Markham 197)

Deny’s death was an opportunity for Markham to grow stronger. Death is often seen as a force that destroys rather than builds, it is the start of a new chapter. As someone who once experienced a death, this is something that speaks to me. When faced with adversity such as the passing of someone, you cannot remain stationary, life moves on with or without you. When losing someone who exuded power and strength, nothing but power and strength can come out of it, like energy that passes on. Death can bring inspiration to so many aspects of life as it means starting over from the beginning and building a new chapter. I think Markham’s perspective of death is an incredible way of thinking about loss, seeing it as gaining something, not losing.

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Being an Active Participant in Observing 

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Being an Active Participant in Observing 

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"Be quiet, Lakweit, and do not move.’ I dropped the butt of my spear on the earth and watched the two Murani stand still as trees, their nostrils distended, their ears alert to all things. Arab Kosky’s hand was tight on his spear like the claw of an eagle clasping a branch. ‘It is an odd sign,’ murmured Arab Maina, ‘when the salt- lick is without company!’ | I had forgotten Buller, but the dog had not forgotten us. He had not forgotten that, with all the knowledge of the two Murani, he still knew better about such things. He thrust his body roughly between Arab Maina and me, holding his wet black nose close to the ground. And the hairs along his spine stiffened. His hackles rose and he trembled. We might have spoken, but we didn’t. In his way Buller was more eloquent. Without a sound, he said, as clearly as it could be said — ‘Lion.’  (84)

In Markham’s West with the Night, the concept of “living in the moment” is explored through multiple layers of engagement, though it remains elusive and ultimately unknowable in its entirety. The Murani, standing still as trees, embody an intense, almost instinctive attentiveness to their surroundings. However, they too are unknowable in how fully they experience the moment. Their stillness suggests a profound connection to the present, yet it’s impossible to truly understand the depth of their experience. Are they perceiving time in the same way as humans, or is their engagement with the moment something entirely different, something beyond words or consciousness as we know it? Similarly the almost inception of being observed--Lakewit observing the Murani, the fog observing them, and everyone observing the lion, yet it is difficult to know the capacity at which each and everyone is engaging with living in their own moment. Showing these different perspectives conveys that living in the moment is a fluid, multiplicity of experiences. From the stillness of the Murani to the visceral instincts of Buller, each being is engaged in the present, but no one fully comprehends how. In this sense, the passage reflects that while we might be physically present, we can never fully know the depth of our engagement with the moment—whether we’re aware of our surroundings or not. The beauty of living in the moment lies in its elusiveness, its unknowability, and its constant shift between awareness and oblivion.

Jazmine Gracia