Buffalo O'Brien

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

Like many other pieces that deal with nature, "Buffalo" connects the writer very closely with his environment. It links the emotional state of O'Brien to the physical state of the world around him, and while he reflects on himself he simultaneously reflects on the land. They are tightly bound, inseparable, as many other nature writers tend to feel and express.

O'Brien, like Julia Butterfly Hill or Walden himself, is not satisfied to write only what should be done, but he has done. He feels he cannot preach to others what he himself has not accomplished or worked towards. His greatest source of persuasion is that he believes in these ideals enough to try them himself.


How does O'Brien relate to his environment?

As stated above, O'Brien finds that he and his environment are permanently joined. Man is meant to be a part of nature, to coexist with it, rather than attempting, as we do now, to stifle it and make it heed our selfish bidding. O'Brien seeks the most ethical and natural approaches in dealing with his property, restoring a sense of dignity to the western plains that were once so daring.


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

To be quite honest, I do not feel as though I have nearly enough expertise to give advice to a man who clearly knows what he is doing. O'Brien has both the intellectual background, from college, and the experience, from his time struggling with the land, to make far better decisions and assessments than I could. It sounds to me as though he is doing the best thing - restoring the land to what it was always meant to be. Through personal sacrifice and hard work, he is making a difference in the things that matter to him.