This past Friday in class, we reflected on the breadth of topics covered during our semester. Not often at the end of a semester, do I have the privilege of doing this. However, I really appreciated the opportunity to go over all the books, discussions, short stories, and larger meanings from our study.
Sitting there I remembered how much I enjoyed the novel Power. This semester I learned that the environment is more than climate change, animals, soil, and/or plants. But it has to do with people, culture, and tradition. We are linked to nature and the environment in a multitude of ways. Since we interact with the environment on a daily basis, it plays a crucial role in our lives and is not just a scientific matter. Linda Hogan’s novel is what allowed me to see this intersection best.
When reading Power, we learn about the Native American’s connection to the endangered panther. In this fiction novel, I was finally able to grasp how an animal or piece of land can be so important to a group of people. The story was able to show me the ways that the living spirit of the panther sustains the Native American communities. At the same time, the story was a telling tale of how these communities are striving to survive with what is left for them.
Overall, I hope to continue to use fiction and story telling to deepen my understanding of environmental causes.
