Buffalo for the Broken Heart

How Does "Buffalo for the Broken Heart" fit into the larger "nature writing" canon?

"Buffalo for the Broken Heart" was a good read to place after the many short stories and poems of American Earth, and the amazingly vivid poems of blood dazzler. It showed a calmer side to nature than Blood Dazzler, as it was more of a story, and not focused on one specific tragedy. Yet it was more exciting and held more life than many of the writings in American Earth, as there was a true plot to it. This is not to say that the majority of American Earth writings were not exciting, they were just more reflective than they were story telling. I liked the storytelling aspect of this book. O'brien teaches his reader about the land and the buffaloes and the way wildlife interact. I certainly didn't know as much about the science and specifics in owning a rach as I did after reading this book.

How does O'Brien relate to his environment?

O'Brien relates to his environment in a way that would be expected of a ranch owner. He has such an understanding of the environment he lives in and is surrounded by. He describes the wildlife with such admiration and interest, coupled with this overall sense of control. He is not just a keen observer. He is involved, he is working with the buffalo, he is familiar with the birds and critters that frequent his ranch, and he is however impressed by their beauty and the way that they live, in charge. At least this is the sense that I got when reading the many descriptions of the buffalo and the wildlife on the Broken Heart.

If you were to make one suggestion to O'Brien, regarding his land use, what would it be?

Being a New Yorker myself, I do not know much about the natural environment and the world untouched by man. In fact, the most I know about these things has come from the readings and explorations we have done in this class. Therefore, I find it quite difficult to make suggestions to such an expert on how to use his land. But, keeping in mind my ignorance and limited understanding of these things, I guess I would suggest that O'Brien grow crops. This is something that most impressed me in moving here to Iowa. The usefulness of having cornfields near, and the idea of eating food that was grown mere miles away from where you live impresses me beyond belief, and seems to me like the only thing that O'Brien is missing out on in his vast experiences on his land. (However, Im not even sure about crop growth and whether it would be possible in this environment. But its just a thought.)