Son of a Trickster

Son of a Trickster

by

Eden Robinson

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The Environment and Human Destruction Theme Analysis

Themes and Colors
Dysfunctional Families, Responsibility, and Maturity Theme Icon
Love vs. Violence Theme Icon
Escapism and Confronting Problems Theme Icon
The Environment and Human Destruction Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Son of a Trickster, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Environment and Human Destruction Theme Icon

Son of a Trickster takes place in a First Nations community in British Columbia. Interspersed with the main story that centers on Jared and his experiences, there are several chapters that switch to the perspective of an unnamed narrator whose tone is omniscient and ethereal—almost god-like. This narrator relays how First Nations people’s spiritual beliefs center on a reverence for the natural world and an understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things. And alongside this, the book warms that people have forgotten their ties to nature and the rest of the universe, and that this arrogant attitude toward the environment could lead to disaster. In this way, Son of a Trickster emphasizes that because people have become ignorant of their intrinsic relationship with nature, they are now on a path to destroy it and perhaps even themselves as a result.

The book’s unnamed narrator establishes how people have forgotten how connected they are to the natural world. Early in the book, the narrator instructs readers to remember that every living thing in nature used to be a dying star, and that human beings were once “wriggling through the universe as beams of light.” This suggests that human beings are made up of the same elements as everything else on the planet, and that we have been connected to every other being since the beginning of time. Yet the narrator also notes that people usually cannot recall these ancient times, suggesting that they have now forgotten their connection to the natural world. The book goes on to say that people are “transitory vessels built from recycled carbon like every other living being on this planet,” again emphasizing how humanity is interconnected with nature. More than that, by observing that people are “transitory vessels,” the narrator emphasizes that human beings have a role to play in making sure that Earth can continue its life cycles, even though we often think of ourselves as superior to other beings or nature.

Next, the book emphasizes how people are destroying the very environment to which they are deeply connected. The protagonist, Jared, has a mysterious connection to a magical realm, which causes him to encounter strange visions. At one point, he meets “Fake Sarah,” a river otter who takes on the shape of his girlfriend, Sarah. Fake Sarah criticizes Jared, explaining, “You're killing the world and you have the nerve to wonder why we hate you,” emphasizing that people are responsible for destroying the environment, and as such, magical beings and animals are turning on people in order to protect the environment. Later in the book, the river otters kidnap Jared and bring him to a cave. They explain that people are taking all the fish, and that “the rivers burn and taste like shit,” so humans are the only thing left to eat. The otters then bite off one of Jared’s toes and burn his flesh, which sends the message that humanity’s destruction of the natural world is so harmful that human beings themselves must be destroyed in order to counter it.

The book then suggests that humanity’s destruction of the environment is so severe that it will lead to a mass extinction event—one that will ultimately destroy human beings as well. At a party Jared attends, a girl who says she is a Selkie (a mythical being that can shapeshift between a seal and a human) says that Earth has reached the “Anthropocene.” This refers to the geological period in which human beings are the dominant influence on climate and the environment, which will inevitably cause mass extinction of both wildlife and humanity itself. This not only reinforces the idea that people are destroying the world, but that as a result, they might cause extinction even for themselves. Another chapter talks about the mass extinction events that wiped out the trilobites (a species of invertebrates) over 252 million years ago. The narrator relays that it happened when the trilobites were “going out for Starbucks before work,” and that they were blindsided by the end of their world, saying, “whoa, man. What the hell?” Attributing human behavior (like going to Starbucks) and speech (“What the hell?”) to the trilobites implies that people could be just as blindsided by a mass extinction even if they don’t stop destroying the environment.

Finally, the book connects this environmentalist message to Native culture when Sarah references Idle No More, a real-life movement started by First Nations people in Canada to fight against environmental degradation. Sarah describes how “Native people are rising up. We’re protesting the omnibus budget bills that are stomping all over the treaties and this oil company called Enbridge.” While many people are ignorant of their connection to nature and continue to pollute the planet, the Idle No More movement emphasizes how those who appreciate their connection to nature—particularly Native people—understand the importance of protecting it. And by referencing a real movement, the book emphasizes that this issue is anything but fictional and suggests that everyone needs to acknowledge their connection to nature and fight against environmental destruction.

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The Environment and Human Destruction Quotes in Son of a Trickster

Below you will find the important quotes in Son of a Trickster related to the theme of The Environment and Human Destruction.
Chapter 2 Quotes

Think of magic as a tree. The root of supernatural ability is simply the realization that all time exists simultaneously. Humans experience time as a progression of sequential events in much the same way we see the horizon as flat: our reality is shaped by our limitations.

If you blasted off in a rocket and achieved a low, stable orbit, you would see the planet’s horizon curving into a sphere. But how, you may be wondering, can you blast yourself out of time? We don’t know how to build those machines yet.

Close your eyes. Concentrate on your breath. Remember that you were not always earthbound. Every living creature, every drop of water and every sombre mountain is the by-blow of some bloated, dying star. Deep down, we remember wriggling through the universe as beams of light.

Related Characters: Jared Martin, Wee’git/The Voice
Page Number: 15
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

The trilobites were blindsided by the end of their world. They were like, whoa, man. What the hell? What did we ever do to you? But no one answered and they had nowhere to hide. Nowhere was safe. Every last trilobite died. Their bodies were covered with mud and ash. As the eons passed, they were pressed into fossil that would, one day, make lovely bookends and paperweights.

Mass extinction sucks.

Page Number: 92
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 17 Quotes

“Are you going to the Idle No More walk?”

“The what?”

“Seriously? Do you live under a rock? It’s all over the news.”

“Kinda busy lately.”

“Wow. Just…wow. Dude, Native people are rising up. We’re protesting the omnibus budget bills that are stomping all over the treaties and this oil company called Enbridge—”

“Oh, that.”

“Oh, that?”

“It’s pretty much a done deal,” Jared said. “The environmental review is a dog-and-pony show to shut everyone up.”

“Way to bend over.”

Related Characters: Jared Martin (speaker), Sarah Jaks (speaker)
Page Number: 135
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 20 Quotes

Our bodies are transitory vessels built from recycled carbon like every other living being on this planet. Bits and parts of you have probably been a cricket or a dinosaur or a single blade of grass on the prairies.

With all the power of technology and science in the world, I would bet you dollars to doughnuts that you still trust a human face to be a human. But come closer and let me speak to the creatures that swim in your ancient oceans, the old ones that sing to you in your dreams. Encoded memories so frayed you think they’re extinct, but they wait, coiled and unblinking, in your blood and your bones.

Page Number: 158-159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 33 Quotes

“You loved your dog because you were her master,” Fake Sarah said.

“What?”

“You only love the ones that crawl to you and beg for food.”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything to you.”

“Human,” she said. “We’re dying because you’re killing us.”

“I’m not killing anyone.”

“You’re killing the world and you have the nerve to wonder why we hate you.”

Related Characters: Jared Martin (speaker), Fake Sarah (speaker), Sarah Jaks, Baby Killer
Page Number: 239
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 35 Quotes

Jared swallowed. He needed to get them off topic. What would get them off topic? “Anthropocene.”

Fake Sarah nodded as the others murmured. “The world is burning.”

“Humans take all the fish,” another one said.

“Can’t stay in the river,” another spat, “The rivers burn and taste like shit.”

“Soon the only thing left to eat,” Fake Sarah said, “is you.”

“I’m sorry,” Jared said.

“We don’t want you sorry,” Fake Sarah said. “We want you dead.”

Related Characters: Jared Martin (speaker), Fake Sarah (speaker)
Page Number: 253
Explanation and Analysis: