Recently in English class, we read an except from Oscar Wilde’s essay “The Decay of Lying” as an AP test prep assignment. In the excerpt, two men are going back and forth about “enjoying nature.” When you first read the piece, it may seem different than anything you have ever read and even a little difficult to follow. If you take a closer look at the excerpt; however, there are many things that may make you stop and think. One example in particular is the idea that which “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” This idea is conveyed through the character of Vivian, a man not afraid to express his critical and rather philosophical ideas. Although his ideas can be both concurred with and disagreed with, Vivian does express an insightful and somewhat interesting view regarding nature.

       I have to admit, when I first read Vivian’s lines, I was a little surprised to see how much he truly disliked nature. Don’t get me wrong, I like nature a lot, but I draw the line at certain points. For example, if you asked me to go on a weekend hiking trip, I would probably say “sure!” But if you asked me to go on a camping trip that lasts more than about a night, I would turn you down almost right away. So in a way, I could relate to Vivian’s dislike of nature. However, his point of nature and art is what made me stop and think. According to Vivian, “What Art really reveals to us is Nature's lack of design, her curious crudities, her extraordinary monotony, her absolutely unfinished condition.” But is this true? Maybe for the time of Wilde.

       I can see how art can take nature and show only its beauty through the eyes of an artist, yet at the same time, we know that nature is beautiful. But how do we know this? Sure art can show us how beautiful nature can be, but we know how beautiful it is by what it does for us. Nature inspires us and makes us think in more ways that we ever thought we could. Maybe that’s why some of the best things in life revolve around nature itself. Many its our experiences with nature and our many interpretations of it that make it so beautiful. If you ask Vivian, nature does not deserve all of the attention is gets; however, for me, sometimes the best creations come directly from nature.

       In the eyes of Vivian, the painting shows a part of nature that isn't possible, in my eyes, paintings merely show what nature is like...in order to experience all of its beauty, we need to go and see it for ourselves.