The Nature of the Mind

“The boy’s mind had the superabundance of heat which is always present where there is rich germination. To share his thoughts was to see old perspectives transformed by new effects of light.” (234)

This quote seems to highlight the core argument that Willa Cather is making between new and old, and the combination of both elements. Throughout the novel, there is an apparent division between all things new and old, made clear by Cather’s descriptions, characters and dialogue. She compares nature to technology, young to old and tangible to intangible. Cather creates Outland to be the epitome of the “right” combination of the new and the old, and this quote seems to point out exactly why. Cather is arguing that contentment comes from the basic elements of life. She contends that people should take the development that humans naturally strive for, and instead of transforming the natural in to something new altogether; they should apply it in context of the old. The “old perspectives” provide a foundation, and with the development, or “germination”, of the mind, these perspectives are “transformed by new effects of light”. I find the comparison between the key thematic words and the key description words in this quote to be very interesting. The key thematic words are “mind”, “heat”, “thoughts”, “perspective”, “transformed” and “effects”. The key descriptive words are “superabundance”, “rich germination”, “old”, “new”, “light”. Cather seems to be comparing the development of the mind to the development of nature. I am not quite sure specifically what she is comparing the mind to, or in what context, but I think it would be an interesting theme for my paper. I might also like to incorporate a comparison between the Professor and Louie Marsellus. I could use their ages, their professions and their opinions on technology to develop an argument. However, seeing as how the quote I am using applies directly to Tom Outland, I may want to either focus on him or compare him instead to Louie or the Professor. I might also like to tie in the importance of the houses and what each house says about the same comparisons between nature and technology and between the old and the new.