The following question is based on the excerpt from “nobel prize acceptance speech” by john steinbeck. according to steinbeck in his “nobel prize acceptance speech,” all who consider themselves writers must hold a belief in a. the erroneous nature of humanity b. the irony of life itself c. the perfectibility of humanity

According to Steinbeck in his “Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech,” all who consider themselves writers must hold a belief in (c.) the perfectibility of humanity.

When talking about 'the perfectibility of humanity', Steinbeck is referring to people's capacity to achieve perfection through natural means. This concept is closely connected to Rousseau's philosophy, which establishes that perfectibility is part of the human development and it is expressed through nature. Moreover, in his speech, Steinbeck argues that all who consider themselves writers must believe in the human potential to achieve perfection and also in "the man's proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit" since, according to him, this was the most effective way of attaining progress.  

wordsworth tends to see nature as 'out there'; a presence which surrounds humans, and contributes to human life, but is different from humans. if you look at a typical wordsworth poem (there was a boy, ye knew him well ye rocks) - wordsworth talks about nature as something that needs to be learned about and understood, nature is different from us.  

if you look at a byron poem (the isles of greece is a good one) - byron looks at nature mainly for what it already means to man. wordsworth will look at a landscape and see the mountains, trees, valleys, and rivers as almost spiritual presences - wordsworth wants to get to know nature.  

byron will look at the same landscape and he will want to know who lives there, what are the villages? are there any farms or mines, is there some history?  

wordsworth looks at nature for what it is; byron is forever asking what it means.  

wordsworth thinks that humans are part of nature; byron thinks that nature is part of being human