Question

What is the theme of the text in a windstorm in the forest?

Answer 1

“A wind-storm in the forests” is more essay than story, but perhaps it is best described as a mood-piece: it uses a lot of musical imagery, not to mention sea imagery, religious imagery, and any other imagery that suits his purpose. And that purpose? To convey the grandeur and timelessness of the forests he loves and wants to protect. The story commences with a discussion of trees in the Sierra and how they variously respond to the wind, and then moves onto a description of a particular wind-storm during which he climbed a 100 ft Douglas Spruce to experience the storm first hand. All eight pages or so are written in idolatrous prose like this. According to Wikipedia, Muir found writing hard, feeling that words were not really up to the task. Whether the problem is words or Muir himself, the prose is a little heavy-handed – and yet how wonderful it is to have the writings of such a man. We would, I think, have been the poorer without a written record of his passion.

Answer 2

In "A Windstorm in the Forest", the author talks to us about nature. He expresses a view that resembles that of the Romantics and the Transcendentalists. The author wants to encourage the reader to appreciate everything that nature has to offer and realize what an important place nature should have in the life of all humans. Moreover, the author wants to encourage the readers to preserve the forest. The theme of the text is that nature should be shown love and respect.