From the very interesting readings, my definition of bewilderment would be, the way humans are unfazed, unmoved, baffled and unresponsive to a certain situation or a specific experience.
Certainty is based on how well we know and are confident about something. From the readings author Edward Abbey and Fanny Howe use certainty as simply a concept of life. Abbey uses it in his essay “The Serpents of Paradise” of how certain the many animals live. From how they look, lay down and even crawl. He is very specific with the snake, and even calls it a “snake story.” Even stooping down to its own level of life. In “Bewilderment”, Howe only uses the concept of her public or known life as the certainty in it. She explains that her public life is certain because it is basically what she wants to show the public and what she knows she is displaying to them. These authors ideas of certainty lead back to my opinion of it, how by being certain we know how well and how confident we are about something. This is necessary in our lives because it creates a mode of satisfaction for our brains and even our heart. I believe that having a concept of certainty in our life provides us with relief. We are able to be certain with our actions, our tests, our mind, our answers and our lives. Bewilderment is necessary in our life because of the act of surprise. The true definition of bewilderment is that it is “a state of being confused and puzzled.” Bewilderment means not understanding, but it goes way beyond that, it implies a state of complete mystification. People experience bewilderment when they are utterly baffled by the situation at hand. This bafflement either includes complete shock, daze, no words, anger, or sadness. However bafflement can also include positive emotions such as, amazement or surprise. An example of negative bafflement is death of a loved one, an example of a positive bafflement is an engagement. Examples of bafflement in the essays are the fact that the narrator in “The Serpents of Paradise” lives in the desert, living day to day with surprises from the local animals, while in “Bewilderment”, the author simply wants bewilderment to not be a state of mind from which she wishes herself released. Rather, for it to be “an enchantment that follows a complete collapse of reference and reconcilability.” Howe simply wants for bewilderment to be her life, she doesn’t want life to be certain. Howe’s essay doesn’t just acknowledge the confines of logic, but her essay explores the potential inbred layers of multiplicities, complications, and contradictions of our life.
In reading both essays I would say my own definition of bewilderment would be us as a people not knowing the specifics of everything that happens in our lives. Certainty means to be certain about something to some tis is necessary to their lives because they want a feeling of consistency or a feeling of security. This is necessary to us because we don't like when we don't know about something or someone and it scares us because we aren't able to control the outcome. We want a sort of confirmation that someone or something is going to be there. In "The Serpents OF Paradise" the ranger knows that the snake is gone which is confusing to him but he knows with certainty that he won't have to worry about rattlesnakes again. He was confused at first but then just accepted it because the snake was a living thing and had to live its own life which was out of his control. We need bewilderment in our lives because we need to learn that knowing everything is unhealthy. We as humans are unknown and undefined we started out as a simple thing and through years of evolution we are what we are today. It was a mystery to us and other people which made them wonder and think about things we wouldn't have normally thought about if we weren't bewildered by certain things. Being perplexed by something awakens something inside of us that tells us to be curious about something just like children. They want to know and learn more because they are bewitched by something they did not know existed before. These are necessary to us because we need confirmation in our lives but also the freedom to wonder.
ReplyDeleteI think nature is a mix of both certainty and bewilderment. I think certainty is necessary in our lives, because there's certain things, we need to be sure about. We need to know the answers in order to survive the world. As humans started, we didnt know anything. We taught ourselves. Also in this world, there are things we cannot know the truth about. It's unattainable. It's also in our best interest, if we don't know about everything this world has to offer us. In the reading it says, " He wouldn't ever again have to wonder: Where is the future?". I think it means, if we knew what was coming, we could plan accordingly. In my personal opinion, i wouldn't want to know my future. God has a plan for me.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the two essays “The Serpents of Paradise” and “Bewilderment” I have come to the conclusion that certainty means being completely prepared for something, knowing something for sure or being confident in yourself. On the other hand, Bewilderment is a different story. Bewilderment is uncertainty. Not knowing what to expect next and being curious about it. Humans have been bewildered for thousands of years and without bewilderment we would not be where we are today. Our world has revolutionized in an industrial world where we have internet, cars, television, cellphones, etc. Our whole country would not exist either if humans had not been bewildered by what else is out there. Our founding fathers took the risk to sail across the sea and discover America. Our world needs bewilderment, being certain about everything in life would make it very boring. If you knew what was going to happen in your future and knew exactly who you were going to marry or where you were going to work, life would be very predictable and uninteresting.
ReplyDeleteMy definition of bewilderment consists of not knowing the exact reason for specific situations, questions, and answers. I say answers because scientists have found answers to many mysterious questions however we still do not know the exact reasoning behind these questions. In fact, I feel like we don't necessarily need to know specific answers or reasoning because if everything in our world was certain we would live a much more boring life as humans. However, certainty is definitely necessary in a lot of real life situations. If certainty didn't exist we wouldn't be able to continue growing as a nation, or even as a species. We need specific answers to questions such as, "why did that bridge collapse?" so we can find a solution to the problem. That might be a terrible example but it is true. Our world consists of both certainty and bewilderment, in fact, it always will.
ReplyDeleteBewilderment form my point of view can be defined as a state of not being able to connect pieces of a continuous event together. A propounding state of confusion about oneself and every aspect of life.
ReplyDeleteCertainty is necessary to our lives as it helps in making the process of decision making faster and more reliable. It enables us to know the next step to take at every point in life. In Nature and Environment by Edward Abbey for example. the persona talks about not being certain of the intensions of the snakes around him and also not being certain of what to do with them. Kill them? or let them live?. The persona also talked about how he often stepped out of his trailer house bare feet. If he had a high level of certainty, he would know whether or not an animal might attempt to attack him. He would be able to predict the snakes move but he didn't and that led to a little bit of regret in the end when he said "If I had been a s capable of trust as I am susceptible to fear I might have learned something new or some truth so very old we have all forgotten."
Bewilderment is also necessary in our lives as it makes us think deeply about the consequences of our decisions and actions. It makes us think deeply about who we are and what we really want which are essential parts of life. It also evokes other emotions that makes us human such as surprise, hatred, regret, fear and so on. It brings about the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment. In the essay "Bewilderment" it is seen to be something quite inevitable to experience as humans. It is described as " an enchantment that follows a complete collapse of reference and reconcilability". This is obviously inevitable as we humans tend to connect our past, present and future together which always lead to us making everything complicated than it actually is. More like looking too much past the surface and digging too deep. But the best part of it all is that it makes us wiser and defines our individuality.
Bewilderment is an interesting term that most people have differing definitions on. I think bewilderment is unpredictable and oftentimes can lead to excitement and new adventures. I think that certainty requires trust, it implys that some things are predictable, and I think certainty is a mental state that isnt always as fundamentally sound as most people think it is all the time. It seems in arguements these days people are always quick to say they are certain of the argument they are making while the person they are arguing against says they are certian aswell. This makes me think that while things are certian in the World not everything that people think to be certain are certain. I do think certainty is necessary in life as it allows people to build on ideas and to have truths they hold close. However, I think people need to harden their criteria on what they consider certain.
ReplyDeleteI define bewilderment as a mix between confusion and astonishment. It is a feeling of uncertainty and shock. Bewilderment is necessary in our lives because it acts as a motivator. When experiencing bewilderment the mind works to try and figure out a solution. It helps launch investigations and discoveries.
ReplyDeleteBewilderment to me is being confused and lost. We live our lives not knowing whats going to happen next. Personally,I feel like this is completely necessary. It would be weird to know everything and it would be less exciting. Life would be very boring. Certainty is fine and some situations. I think we need both at different times to balance each other out. Certainty can be misleading because everyone's interpretation of it is different. Especially in conflict; when two individuals views are different and they stand strongly behind them. With bewilderment your not suppose to understand, which leaves room for compromise and growth. I think that both bewilderment and certainty is necessary in our everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with dana and Angelica that bewilderment is like a state of confusion and certainty is knowing what's going to happen. I believe that as humans we prefer certainty to bewilderment. In both of these writings I also agree with jazymn that certainty is good sometimes and that a little bewilderment is nesesaary to live an exciting life. Both of these stoties do a really good job of explaining thsee concepts and I enjoyed reading both texts.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading Edward Abbey’s “The Serpents of Paradise” and Fanny Howe’s Bewilderment, I would personally define bewilderment as a state of uncertainty and puzzlement. Everyday life is full of choices and things that fall under both certainty and bewilderment but they are both useful in their own separate ways. Certainty is needed in understanding our surroundings, if creates knowledge and makes us feel secure in knowing what is happening around us in this grand world. Even though Edward Abbey presents this as a positive thing, Fanny Howe makes certainty seem boring. They tell the story of King Midas and how the fixed matter began to make him repulsed, he would never again have to wonder. This ruined his life in that he began to blur everything together, this definite certainty began his downfall and made this the anti-creation story it is today. Bewilderment is also needed in everyday life because without it life becomes too transparent and too boring. Boringness is what will begin humans’ downfall, we need constant creation and creativity to thrive as a species and as a society. The world would be nothing closed to how we are now if we were certain when humans first evolved and never changed past that point, if no one ever branched out into something unknown. Certainty and Bewilderment go hand in hand in the vast world we live today, as they should.
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