Noble Savage and the Natural World

I am still unsure about what my final project will be like, but right now I’m very interested in discussing the social curiosity of the “natural world” and if this type of environment exists. Another area I think is linked to this topic is the “noble savage,” especially its portrayal in Romanticism and literature. I found two journal articles using JSTOR, one of which was very helpful, the other of which was not:

1)
Calhoon, Kenneth S. "The Education of the Human Race: Lessing, Freud, and the Savage Mind." The German Quarterly 64.2 (1991): 178-89. JSTOR. Web. 31 Jan. 2010.

Although this is article is mainly a discussion on psychology rather than environmental studies or literature, it offers well-formatted insight into the nature of “savagery,” which I something I know I want to focus my final project on. The article talks a lot about Levi-Strauss, some of the juxtaposition between the Enlightenment and Romanticism, and of course Lessing and Freud, but there is thorough discussion on society’s unreasonable obsession with the “nobleness” of savagery. “The ‘pure’ savage can never be more than a hypotheses, for even if there still existed a primary community untouched by civilization, it would be empirically inaccessible, since one could not communicate with its people without transforming them into something other than what one set out to study.” (p. 179)

2)
Murray, Elsie. "The "Noble Savage"" The Scientific Monthly 36.3 (1933): 250-57. JSTOR. Web. 31 Jan. 2010.

Another article I found through JSTOR was far less modern, but interestingly detailed with the reoccurring theme of the “natural man” in Romantic literature, as inspired by Captain John Smith’s account of Native Americans. This article was not as helpful as the other one, and instead of discussing the “noble savage,” it critiqued literature’s obsession with the natural world in a negative way. It was still helpful to see a different side on the Romantic’s beloved noble savage motif and to read about accounts of Native Americans in the 15th century.