1. There were several characters in the novel. I feel like it can go both ways when we are debating if the eco-warriors in the novel are heroes. One of the main characters in the novel, Patricia Westerford takes her own life towards the ending of the novel. Some see the act of suicide as being selfish and death as an ending and not a continuation, so we can say that there are people out there who do not see her as a hero. Patricia ended her life because she wanted to leave a message behind. She strongly believes that the world would be a better place if humans were to die off to help the planet. She wanted to get across to people that death is a way of continuing one’s life as their it will bring benefits to nurture and develop future generations; comprehend how trees need to be protected. However, her problem with this was that not all people view death the same as she did. She decided that ending her life in front of an audience was the way to go, but her message was not delivered to everyone. I feel like Powers is somewhat sympathetic to the characters’, but is also impatient with their stridency. I feel like the way he presented how and why Patricia ended her life was for a very strong reason she believed in. I didn’t feel much sympathy for her because she died wanting to put out a message. Patricia had a strong character, she was very vocal. She studied trees fought against logging, which portrayed to readers that a person will not back down when it comes to thought of making progress. So honestly, I can say that she did not have any regrets about what she did. It makes me sad though thinking that she could have done a lot more than to end her life. It’s a little difficult for me to sympathize for the characters. I couldn’t with Dorothy because even though she was broken hearted when Ray died, I couldn’t help but keep in mind that she did betray Ray and have an affair with some other man. For Ray, I did not feel much for him because he was desperate to keep Dorothy who had an affair that the thought of not being with her gave him pain. It was sad. Powers presented his characters as people who fought for what they believed, knowing that there may be consequences. My attitude towards eco-warriors is that they’re doing what they need to do. They’re people with a strong mind, who are ready for fight. I admire how much courage they show, especially when the arsonist pact formed which included Nicholas Hoel, Olivia Vandergriff, Mimi Ma, Gouglas Pavicek, and Adam Appich. This group’s main goal was to destroy the progress of lumber companies, but sadly Olivia was killed during their last attack by an explosion. Now that part I sympathized with because before she dies, she expresses her love for Nick. All the characters had a love for nature that drove them to protest and protect the trees. That is why they left me in an applaud because some of the characters died for nature and that takes a lot to follow through with.
2. There’s a lot to say about what Powers expressed in his interview. What I get from what he is saying is that he compared himself to a giant redwood when he first encountered it. A redwood can live for hundreds of years. A human has a shorter lifespan than them. So, the sense he felt of being bound back into a system of meaning that does not begin or end with humans stands clear to me when making a connection to Overstory. Powers is saying that trees will always be the last ones standing, they’ve always been here way before us humans. In Overstory, there are characters who died, but after their death, what is still thriving on? Trees. Humans die every day, but trees are still there. Trees know that death is something part of their life and that the cycle of it will continuously keep on going long after any other species out there have been erased from the planet. Trees know that nature will restore its spot in the world and bring back the harmony that was once there before humans. Trees do not die; they will constantly keep enduring. That is why when Powers stood next to the redwood, he felt the way he did, because you realize that a tree like a giant redwood was there before you, before humans, and will be there in the end after you die, and even after humans are eradicated for whatever reason.
3. The quote from Powers is saying that until we realize that using the planet’s resources as much as we want and when we want is bad, then there will be consequences that we will continuously face. If we are using the planet’s resources, then we should take care of it so that we do not deplete them completely. A resource of this planet are trees. Climate change is mentioned throughout the novel making it one of the main themes. Characters like Neelay, Pratricia, and the protestors take notice of this, but there is no one who wants to hear of it. Climate change will make an impact on the future generations of humans. Readers recognize that we will be taking the lives of our own species if we do not change.
4. Lessons that we can learn from the story about the way we treat the environment and the world around is that we are blinded by the damage we create. There are people who care so much about nature and the environment that they are willing to risk their own life. A lot of people don’t think about how we are harming the world. We don’t pay attention to what’s going on around us when it comes to nature until someone has risked their own life to protect nature. Why must there be people who die at the thought that ending one’s life is the only way attention can be retrieved? It has gotten so bad that options like that seem like the only way to handle with problems regarding nature and the environment. An example from the novel of this would be Patricia. She ends her own life believing that the world would be better off. Readers are reminded over and over again throughout the novel that humans are destroying the planet by removing it of its trees. Another lesson
5. In the book I made a connection between the natural world and technology when I got to the section about Neelay Mehta. Neelay has a smart mind when it comes to technology, specifically computers. He does not let the fact that he has become a disabled person stand in his way from the things he wants to accomplish. He does an amazing job developing codes and this gives him to enter college at an early age. He creates games and this becomes quite popular. While Neelay was on his campus, the trees communicate with him that changes his views on things around him. He then tries to develop a way to create the type of world the trees talked to him about. As time passes, he ultimately establishes his own company through the making of his successful games. One of his biggest and most popular games is named Mastery, which he tries to his best in at making it as realistic as possible. The game has many sequels and throughout it all, he realizes that he wants to make the game a hundred percent real. Neelay puts his mind to work at putting the consequences in the real world he has seen in his game. Later on in the book, he develops these learning bots to get people all over as many as possible within his reach to know what and why it has taken them a tremendously long period of time to discover. Mastery represents how people have become conscious of the natural world surrounding them. Technology every day is constantly growing fast and becoming more complex. Humans are racing to create new things while hurting the planet of its resources, just like how Neelay is thrilled to create his games. Neelay is different from most people because he understands that as technology is nonstop growing, it is not the least bit sustainable to keep consuming the resources the planet has. That is why in an attempt to change the minds of people, he tries to change his game, but it does not sit well with those who are making profit from it. Neelay coming to realization in the book lets readers know that there are people who have opened their minds about the problems with resources and try to halt the damage of them, but it is met with opposition from people who are making money off of them.
6. I feel like sometimes trauma is necessary for people. Everyone is raised differently, so we experience different things. There are people ignorant in the world, and so therefore it is harder for them to actually appreciate what is around us like for example, people who are in business. Those who own factories usually have no care in the world and produce pollution. They want the company to thrive and grow, so that they can expand their business. They do not care until laws are passed to have requirements met. I feel like it is also good to consider how a person is raised. It is very likely if you have parents who appreciate the environment, then you will likely grow up with the same attitude. I do agree that the book is suggesting that trauma is necessary to appreciate the world around us. A trauma can be very eye opening, changing a person’s views a little, a lot, or even entirely. Every character in the book have their own story and they went through a lot that has helped shaped their mind. There are people out there who do not appreciate nature until they are directly affect. They don’t appreciate until they see with their own two eyes how harmful factories, smoking, burning, and littering can be.