The Forest

In our society, camping and "the woods" have taken on contradicting meanings. Though camping is an enjoyable to experience the outdoors, it is viewed by some as a frugal vacation. Camping a vacation for the lower class, or it is the poor man's vacation. Also, the forest is a place for illicit and malicious activities in literature as well as in real life. For example, Mistress Hibbins is known to take trips into the forest and invites Hester to go with her to the "merry company in the forest" to meet "the Black Man" (Hawthorne 113). Despite these negative views, camping and the forest also have a different side. Camping can become very expensive for example when you get an RV or rent a site and consider all of the equipment necessary to execute such an excursion like a bonfire pit, a grill, cooking utensils, and a tent to name a few. Then, in addition to being the scene of illicit activity, the forest is a place of beauty. We pay taxes to protect and keep national forests like the national parks protecting the redwood forests in California. Both camping and the forest take on different meanings as the context around them requires. Camping is economical yet a hefty investment and the forest both a beautiful and ominous location.