Wendell Berry Paper
In the paired essays, “Damage” and “Healing,” Wendell Berry expresses his satirical view of how human “advancements” in technology is leading to the ultimate demise of the integrity of humanity. In reality, the path to true enlightenment is to focus on one’s inner self and the discovery of personal innocence through more natural means.
Berry begins his first essay, “Damage,” by confessing that he conformed to the norm of society and had used a form of technology to advance one of his goals. He had hired a man to use bulldozer to install a pond in an area on his farm that had no permanent source of water. Initially, the addition of the pond proves to be beneficial to Berry. The new supply of water allows him to raise livestock in the previous vacated portion of the farm and Berry is able utilize his land to its full potential. All seems well until colder weather arrives. The new, more extreme conditions causes the manmade structure to become damaged. The damage to the pond causes many of the trees in the area to fall. The area is forever scarred. Berry himself, is scarred.
Berry places the blame solely on his shoulders. He made a mistake that he believes has befallen far too many individuals prior to him. He states, “ The trouble was the familiar one: too much power, too little knowledge. The fault was mine.” In this statement, Berry expresses that humanity is growing at a rate that is dangerous for society. Humans continue to advance but then are faced with the problem of having too much capacity but lack the ability to comprehend the true magnitude and responsibility of having tools that can cause such destruction. Berry also touches on the fact that searching for professional help is a pointless task. He uses the term “expert” to express the irony of one who believes them self to be the master completely of a subject. Berry believes that no one person can fully comprehend a situation because in Berry’s words, “No expert knows everything...
