Occurrence of Nature Imagery in Literature of Los Angeles Essay

Occurrence of Nature Imagery in Literature of Los Angeles - Essay Example In movies like Chinatown, filmmakers explored the powerful structural concerns water and nature played in the development of the city. Another poignant account is captured in Cedric Belfrage’s The Promised Land. This essay considers the metaphor of nature in the Promised Land, arguing that the text demonstrates nature as a metaphor of life, destruction, as well as a central element of the city. The Promised Land examines nature in Los Angeles through a number of perspectives. One of the recurring motif’s is through the investigation of the Old River. The Old River is explored through a variety of angles. One of the initial perspectives on the river is as an augmentation to Old Si’s life. The text describes how during periods when the river would overflow, Old Si would wander down to the river, â€Å"as though his brain were the throat of a thirsty man† (pg. 163). As the text advances, and further background information is given regarding Old Si, it becomes clear that the river functions as an important metaphor to his life. The text states, â€Å"He’d always been eccentric about the river, talked of it as ‘gold’. Now he talked as if it were a living creative: almost as if it were a beautiful young wife that had been snatched from him† (pg. 165). This is one of the most powerful lines in the text speaking of the connection of the river to Old Si. Old Si represents a sort of old world Los Angeles and his connection to the river can be linked to this old world life. The passage also further demonstrates the metaphor of nature as being a central aspect of life in Los Angeles. For Old Si, it has become centrally linked it his quality of life to the extent that he would rather live near it than move to the East coast.