The man and nature theme in "Traveling through the Dark" is about as subtle as snakes on a plane (we're talking about actual snakes on an actual plane, but also the movie). The poem's speaker is out in the wilderness dealing with the death of a wild animal. Man? Check. Natural World? Check. What's interesting are some of the more subtle ways that this theme surfaces in the poem.
Questions About Man and the Natural World
- Could this poem be set in the city and still address the man and nature theme? If you think it could, how would it be done? If you think it couldn't, why not?
- Which elements in the poem represent the natural world and which don't? Is there any overlap? Are there some elements that can be viewed as representing the natural world and the realm of man-made?
- Why do you think Stafford chose a deer for this poem? Why not a bear or a skunk or a cat? How would the poem change if there was a different animal by the side of the road—or a person?
Chew on This
Come on, y'all. It is pointless to make a distinction between "natural" and "man-made." Human beings are part of nature and therefore what they create, be that a car or a building, is natural. When a beaver makes a damn, we still consider it part of the natural world—we don't say it was "beaver-made" (most of us, anyway).
Man is only capable of making a negative impact on the natural world. The planet, and all the other creatures on it, would be better off without people. We're just the worst.