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Johnny Appleseed Research Paper

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For the past 200 years in the United States, there have been a myriad of legends, folktales, and stories concerning the american icon Johnny Appleseed; some of which extol his honorable kindhearted nature, love for the wilderness, and Christian beliefs, and others that unveil possible pedophiliac tendencies and love for hard cider. His unique story of spreading and planting apple seeds from state to state has been told and retold to appear either as a heroic act of environmental preservation and improvement or as a trait of a true entrepreneur. And though he is often described to have a disheveled physical demeanor, such appearance has been somehow skewed to support his connection to the untouched wilderness and his life of few to no excess …show more content…

He is frequently described as righteous Christian man who was a lover of children, animals, and all that nature had to offer. The 1948 Disney version of Chapman depicts him in a very similar manner and highlights his naive personality and innocent behavior. Additionally, in a biblical passage it reads, "You shall not pollute the land in which you live... you shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell." (Numbers 35:33-34), therefore if Chapman had been such a devoted believer, his environmentalistic characteristics would not be out of character. But on the other hand, it is very possible that he could have a profound love for nature and his apple trees but not be concerned about the environments quality and have not been taking the steps to protect it as a true …show more content…

Not only does Pollan travel to the places where John Chapman lived back in the 19th century, but also does a great deal of research on the apple in order to have a more educated conclusion on the “environmentalist’s” persona. Pollan discusses that the apple is originally from the mountains of Kazakhstan, made its way to Europe through the silk trade route, and eventually to the United States with the arrival of Columbus and the rest of the Europeans. He also points out that the apples that we eat are strictly from grafted trees, therefore the seeds that Chapman was planting would produce apples so bitter and sour that they would only be edible in the form of hard apple cider. Furthermore, if much of Chapman’s business was focused around the production of trees to make cider then the essence of his story is completely altered. He is no longer a Christian saint who has devoted himself to preserving nature by planting trees; he is, as stated by Michael Pollan, an American Dionysus - Greek god of wine and

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