History Main / InHarmonyWithNature

* In a subversion CSLewis in ''Reflections on the Psalms'' claims that a purely aesthetic appreciation of nature does not come to most peoples until they are capable of making artificial environments(I.E. cities) and points out that in many works of ancient poetry when people say that nature is beautiful they mean it is useful. That is under this theory a gatherer would think an antelope beautiful because it is tasty but a leopard definitely ugly because it might think ''him'' tasty; but city folk think leopards beautiful because they live far away from leopards. Of course in that sense primeval man ''is'' InHarmonyWithNature; because [[CrapsackWorld he is acting just like it.]]

* In a subversion CSLewis in ''Reflections on the Psalms'' claims that a purely aesthetic appreciation of nature does not come to most peoples until they are capable of making artificial environments(I.E. cities) and points out that in many works of ancient poetry when people say that nature is beautiful they mean it is useful. That is under this theory a gatherer would think an antelope beautiful because it is tasty but a leopard definitely ugly because it might think him or his animals tasty; but city folk think leopards beautiful because they live far away from leopards. Of course in that sense primeval man ''is'' InHarmonyWithNature; because [[CrapsackWorld he is acting just like it.]]

** Given Tolkien's quasi-Biblical creation myth for the setting, a case can be made that "harmony with nature" directly correlates to "goodness" in it, period. So "good" people and races do live in accord with nature as Eru intended it, morally more ambiguous ones allow themselves to grow out of touch, and "evil" ones just plain don't care or actively want to despoil it.

* [[{{Badass}} Neville]] [[TookALevelInBadass Longbottom]], from ''HarryPotter'', is an Herbology prodigy, eventually taking over the Professorship in that subject upon the retirement of Professor Sprout.

* Dickon in ''TheSecretGarden'' astounds even his family with how happy he is on the moors and how well he gets along with animals. He teaches Mary, Colin, and even Ben Weatherstaff to do the same, though his knack is always the best.

** As a vegetarian I think it's cool that there are vegan characters...I just take offence to the fact that the elves are [[MarySue ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS RIGHT]]. Seriously. The main character converts to vegetarianism solely ''because the elves tell him to'', while having no problem with slaughtering hundreds of people in battle.

* In Zilpha Keatley Snyder's ''The Changeling'', Ivy Carson is a combination of this, NatureLover and an EarthlyBarefootCharacter. In fact, she comes within a hair's breadth of being a FriendToAllLivingThings. This is why it's so jarring when we're told she ends up studying ballet in New York City.

* In fact, the vast majority of LMMontgomery heroines possess this trope. [[AnneOfGreenGables Anne asserts that]] she could never be happy someplace that didn't have trees. ''Literature/JaneOfLanternHill'' blossoms when she moves out to the countryside, is a great gardener, and even before then, had an affinity for the moon. Marigold (from ''Magic for Marigold'') loves nothing better than to roam the hills and shore of Prince Edward Island.

* The Sevenwaters clan in TheSevenwatersTrilogy. They are also [[BarbarianTribe savage]] [[ProudWarriorRace Warlike]], and [[ForeverWar constantly feuding]] with, well, everyone.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', where an elven clan living in the woods is mistrustful of outsiders for all the usual elfy reasons. Then it turns out that [[spoiler: they're actually in conflict with a local nature spirit who their Keeper invoked to put a curse on the humans who raped and murdered his children. Problem is, that was ''centuries'' ago - the curse has kept spirit and Keeper alive long past their time, and the curse is now only hurting the killers' descendants.]]

* Subverted in ''DragonAgeOrigins'', where an elven clan living in the woods is mistrustful of outsiders for all the usual elfy reasons. Then it turns out that [[spoiler: they're actually in conflict with a local nature spirit who has allied herself with the forest's original, human inhabitants, whom the elves drove out centuries ago.]]

* The elves in ''TheInheritanceCycle'' are even more InHarmonyWithNature than even Tolkien's elves, to the point that they are a bunch of pompous [[{{Veganopia}} vegans]] who use magic to bend nature to their will.

* Cody Lundin of ''DualSurvival'' is another example, trying to live as close to nature as possible and having worn neither long pants, shoes, nor underwear in the last 20 years. However, he's no idiot (the man ''knows'' how to survive in potentially deadly situations) and is willing to compromise in some situations (he'll wear protective footwear in terrain that warrants it, like snowfields and sharp rocks).

This, simply, is a character or a society who, either by training or by intuition, understands the resources and rhythms of nature exceptionally well, and lives accordingly. They may be able survive in, or travel through, an apparently forbidding wilderness with ease. If they're not an actual NatureHero, they'll probably be a virtually self-sufficient farmer or gardener, able to coax [[CallToAgriculture glorious harvests out of the ground]] with a single trowel and love (and certainly never with pesticides) and will pontificate about the ancient [[{{Arcadia}} wisdom of the soil]]. At the very least, they'll be able to experience a simple jaunt through the [[GhibliHills countryside]] on a deeper level to any more urban-minded people around them. They are, invariable, {{Nature Lover}}s.

* This trope is almost the entire point of {{Disney}}'s ''{{Pocahontas}}''.

** Druids in general when they are portrayed in fiction. There's little evidence that the real world druids were actually living in any more harmony than the rest of the human race.

* In the Camping Episode of TheSimpsons, Marge and Lisa were separated from the rest of their family. With nothing, they managed to have a nice fire and a comfortable place to rest. Marge was even seen sweeping out the hut and arranging the living animals in a row. Homer and Bart, on the other hand, were not so lucky...

* Often assumed to be the case with native North Americans, but not really. These guys lived in complicated societies with trade routes, urban centres, and, yes, deforestation.

* The Aborigines. Even their religion was based on being in harmony with nature.

* Cody Lundin of ''DualSurvival'' is another example, trying to live as close to nature as possible and having worn neither long pants, shoes, nor underwear in the last 20 years. However, he's no idiot (the man ''knows'' how to survive in potentially deadly situations) and is willing to compromise in some situations (he'll wear protective footwear in terrait that warrants it, like snowfields and sharp rocks).

* Definitely the Wolfriders and Sun Folk in ''ElfQuest'', but subverted by the Gliders, who've cut themselves off from nature. As for the Go-Backs, they're too busy fighting the trolls to care one way or another.

* This trope is almost the entire point of [[{{Disney}} Disney's]] ''{{Pocahontas}}''.

* In the StarTrekNovelVerse, the Kazarites and Irriol are two races like this. The Kazarites have telepathic and empathic links with animals, and accordingly have a culture greatly concerned with preserving natural eco-systems. This empathy extends to animals beyond Kazar itself, allowing them to aid in the restoration of other, more damaged planets. In StarTrekMereAnarchy, their "ecopaths" play a role in the terraforming of central planet Mestiko, which has been heavily damaged by a pulsar. The Irriol are even more InHarmonyWithNature, to the point where they are willing to sacrifice their lives to predators if they sense that the ecosphere is better served by their deaths.
* Parodied in ''{{Discworld}}''; the wizards expected Mustrum Ridcully to be a "roams the forests with [[FriendToAllLivingThings every beast his brother]]" type, who talked to birds, because he was a wizard who lived in the countryside. He turned out to be a GreatWhiteHunter who ''shouted'' at birds ("Winged yer, yer bastard!"), but he's still more in harmony with nature than the other wizards, who never leave the city if they can avoid it.

* Dickon in ''TheSecretGarden'' astounds even his family with how happy he is on the moors and how well he gets along with animals. He teaches Mary, Colin, and even Ben Weatherstaff to do the same, though his knack is always the best.

* In ''TheBlueCastle,'' Barney lives this way, and when Valancy comes along to live with him she takes to it like a fish to water.
* In fact, the vast majority of LMMontgomery heroines possess this trope. [[AnneOfGreenGables Anne asserts that]] she could never be happy someplace that didn't have trees. ''Literature/JaneOfLanternHill'' blossoms when she moves out to the countryside, is a great gardener, and even before then, had an affinity for the moon. Marigold (from ''Magic for Marigold'') loves nothing better than to roam the hills and shore of Prince Edward Island.

* Druids in ''{{Dungeons and Dragons}}''.

* In the Camping Episode of {{TheSimpsons}}, Marge and Lisa were separated from the rest of their family. With nothing, they managed to have a nice fire and a comfortable place to rest. Marge was even seen sweeping out the hut and arranging the living animals in a row. Homer and Bart, on the other hand, were not so lucky...

This, simply, is a character or a society who, either by training or by intuition, understands the resources and rhythms of nature exceptionally well, and lives accordingly. They may be able survive in, or travel through, an apparently forbidding wilderness with ease. If they're not an actual NatureHero, they'll probably be a virtually self-sufficient farmer or gardener, able to coax [[CallToAgriculture glorious harvests out of the ground]] with a single trowel and love (and certainly never with pesticides) and will pontificate about the ancient [[{{Arcadia}} wisdom of the soil]]. At the very least, they'll be able to experience a simple jaunt through the [[GhibliHills countryside]] on a deeper level to any more urban-minded people around them.

* Definitely the Wolfriders and Sun Folk in ''ElfQuest'', but brutally subverted by the Gliders, who've cut themselves off from nature. As for the Go-Backs, they're too busy fighting the trolls to care one way or another.

* The [[PaperMaster Wood Forgers]] seen in the ''{{Thundercats2011}}'' episode "The Forest of Magi Oar" think they are this, being the Forest's self-proclaimed guardians. [[spoiler:They're not. Their desire for power is ''harming'' the forest (through a paper mill), so much so that Viragor, the ''true'' guardian of the Forest, wants to evict them.]]

Not to be confused with CloserToEarth, even though quite often a [[AlwaysFemale character]] described as CloserToEarth will also be InHarmonyWithNature and/or be a MagicalFlutist.

* In fact, the vast majority of LMMontgomery heroines possess this trope. [[AnneOfGreenGables Anne asserts that]] she could never be happy someplace that didn't have trees. ''Literature/JaneOfLanternHill'' blossoms when she moves out to the countryside. Marigold (from ''Magic for Marigold'') loves nothing better than to roam the hills and shore of Prince Edward Island.

* In fact, the vast majority of LMMontgomery heroines possess this trope. [[AnneOfGreenGables Anne asserts that]] she could never be happy someplace that didn't have trees. ''JaneOfLanternHill'' blossoms when she moves out to the countryside. Marigold (from ''Magic for Marigold'') loves nothing better than to roam the hills and shore of Prince Edward Island.

* In fact, the vast majority of LMMontgomery heroines possess this trope. [[AnneOfGreenGables Anne asserts that]] she could never be happy someplace that didn't have trees. ''Jane of Lantern Hill'' blossoms when she moves out to the countryside. Marigold (from ''Magic for Marigold'') loves nothing better than to roam the hills and shore of Prince Edward Island.