Chapter 20, Wildlife in American Culture Summary and Analysis

In modern society, people have shifted from living in nature as the plains Indians had done, though people still retain their wild roots. There are three different values that people have when it comes to nature. The first is personal experience or the split-rail value. This is anything that reminds a person about his or her national origins and evolution. An example is when a boy scout tans a coonskin cap then goes out hunting as Daniel Boone used to do. He is reenacting history. The second is anything that reminds us of our dependency on the old food chain. Civilization has changed all this, because we can just go to the store and get whatever we want, regardless of where it is on the chain and how hard it used to be...