Flight Behavior

Flight Behavior

"Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver is an exploration of science, religion, and self-awareness. The author uses quite elevated and sophisticated vocabulary to detail the events in rural Appalachia. The main character, Dellarobia, is impregnated at the age of seventeen, which binds her to a life of rather challenging circumstances. Her somewhat uneventful marriage leaves her feeling lonely and bored throughout the first half of the book. Although she does not seem to enjoy many aspects of motherhood, there are many times throughout the first few chapters that expose Dellarobia's judgements and views on the ways in which other people raise their children. She lives in a small town, and is only exposed to a very narrow-minded view of life. It appears as if, throughout the book, Dellaboria is going to begin to challenging some of the ideas she is surrounded by, which may result in many complications.

While reading this book, many elements of Dellaboria's life strike me as being similar to that of my extended family. My parents are from Ohio and West Virginia, and they both grew up on farms in small cities. Although we do not have much remaining family in West Virginia, I have more than 200 relatives in Southern Ohio. A majority of these individuals live in a town named Camden, which has a population of around 2000. Although I adore most of my family, many of them have not been exposed to life outside of their small, predominately white, farming town. Camden seems to be similar to Feathertown, Tennessee, where Dellaboria resides. It has always been somewhat challenging for me to travel to Camden, for I have lived a life full of diversity, and some individuals in Southern Ohio are not as accepting as the people I have grown up around. Although I should not, I often find myself questioning and critiquing the mindset of many of my family members. Like Dellaboria's family members, my family in Camden holds strong religious, economic, and political views, some of which I am not entirely in agreement with.  I am looking forward to reading more of "Flight Behavior," because I feel that I will have a deep connection to Dellaboria and the life she is beginning to question even more than I already do.

As it turns out, this book is one individual's exploration and investigation of climate change and it's effect on Earth. As Dellaboria goes through her regular, monotonous routine, the weather patterns begin to shift dramatically and rain begins to cause mudslides, torrential downfall, and horrible storms. After the rain, Dellaboria's town gets a migration of monarch butterflies.At first, she, like the rest of her town, thinks these butterflies are a message from God. With further consideration and research, Dellaboria begins to believe the butterflies are actually a result of changing weather patterns, and an increase in temperature. She tries to convey her message to her town, however she is quickly shut down, because the people have not been educated on climate change and global warming.

This book is a great example of climate change denial, or at least lack of education surrounding these issues. Perhaps, with supplemental materials that detail climate change events, this book would be a great eye opener to expose the lack of knowledge that surrounds climate change. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone in our class. Although it is not my favorite book ever, I did enjoy the way in which Kingsolver wrote, and her message was very powerful. I also enjoyed the personal connection I felt with the characters, particularly Dellaboria. I felt as if I could relate to her because she was from a small, somewhat uneducated town, and she had to face many societal pressures.

Into the Wild

"Into the Wild" is the true story of a young man who spends years after college exploring and touring the US and Mexico. This man, Alex McCandless, leaves his educated, typical American life, in search of...something. Throughout the book, it is apparent that no one, not friends, family, or acquaintances, ever knew what McCandless was looking for. In some ways, it appears that this man lived a life of solitude, depression, and loneliness. However, many of the people who encountered McCandless stated that he seemed quite content living the life he loved, and he enjoyed spiriting around the world, desiring to find adventure wherever he went. There is a large amount of irony that exists in Alex McCandless's tragic tale, for his presumable cause of death was starvation, and before he went on his life-altering adventure, he donated his life's savings to a foundation that assisted starving children.
Although I had never read "Into the Wild," before reading the book, I had heard many individuals discussing the content of the book. I went into it thinking that I would find many similarities between Alex McCandless and "Catcher in the Rye's" Holden Caulfield.  Holden and Alex both appeared to view the world with unique and aspiring optics, however even though both of the young men desired to "be different," and lived life in confinement at times, McCandless was much more educated than Holden, and he seemed to have a skill set that was not seen in Caulfield. In addition, their social skills seemed to vary drastically. Holden had trouble communicating with others, while Alex enjoyed the company of others, and many individuals spoke quite highly of him. Many of the people who spoke of Alex in the book suggested that he was a very intelligent, handy, and hard-working man. All of which are traits that Holden did not possess.
McCandless was a firm believer in owning only what you could carry on your back. Through his writing and the stories from people who knew him, it appears that he did not enjoy carrying the burden of schlepping around extra baggage; be that clothing, friends, or food. I found his letter to Ronald Franz, a man he met on in South Dakota, to be quite revealing. McCandless prompted Franz to "make a radical change in his lifestyle," and "become accustomed to such a life" of traveling and adventure. In this letter, McCandless exposes his true feelings on life, and his motives for hitchhiking across American borders. He states that he sees no value in living life by "going right back to the same situation you see every day."

So far, I am only about one half of the way done with this book. I have been very intrigued by the story, and I can't wait to read more. This story is more captivating than the usual tale about the depressed American hitchhiker and bum who travels across the country, living off mere rations and assistance from kind-hearted soles, because Alex McCandless (aka Chris) is an educated, bright, hard-working individual, who does not ever seem to feel as if he is alone in the world. His outlook is very positive, and the actions he takes could possible serve as a lesson to many people. If I had to create a message from the first half of this book, it would be that a person should take time to truly explore and break their typical, daily habits. For if we don't, we will never truly find the true meaning or beauty of life.

11th Hour

The "11th Hour" is a documentary that is narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. The film encompasses a variety of topics that center around the idea that we, as a species, are doomed to become extinct in the near future if we do not create sustainable methods that will allow all organisms on Earth to flourish. Many speakers are present throughout this film, ranging from Steven Hawking to neuroscientists, who are perceived as experts in their field. The speakers share their thoughts on the different ideas, and at the conclusion of the film, many of the speakers agree that extinction of the human race may not be a dramatic loss to life on Earth.
Throughout this film, viewers are able to not only learn about humans are spoiling Earth's environment, but they are also able to view live footage from events such as tornadoes, glacial ice breaking, floods, starvation, and more. The dramatic music that is played along with these events created a sense of urgency and severity that is not present when reading a book about climate change and destruction. The speakers also included a wide assortment of individuals, ranging from disabled, to Native American, to celebrities, which may allow some viewers to understand that climate change is not just an issue for scientists, but the general public.
To me, the most interesting aspect of the "11th Hour" was the concept of humans accepting that they are a part of nature. Many of the speakers suggested that humans view Earth as a place for nature, and a place for humans. In actuality, humans are a large part of nature, however we do not treat our counterparts as equals. As we have talked about in class, humans have a tendency to deplete resources rapidly, which has led to tremendous turmoil over the last century. Before the Industrial Revolution, our lives were based off of sunlight, rather than technology.

Sunlight was the driving force of plant growth, which in turn created food for livestock and the human race. Sunlight determined the circadian rhythm cycles of our species, and allowed other species to live peacefully at night. For many years, sunlight indirectly provided clothing, shelter, food, water, and more to the human race. Not long ago, some of the sun's power was replaced with that of coal, fossil fuels, and a shift in agriculture. We resorted to the Earth's resources, rather than the Sun's rays. As we have seen, this change prompted a series of unfortunate events.
We have become "environmental refugees" who rely on resources that are rapidly declining. We are simply "astronauts floating in space, in solidarity, who are dependent upon information that is sent to us from millions of miles away." In order to see a change, we must "bridge public policy with public opinion." As discussed many times throughout the "11th Hour," American's are governed by a Constitution that was created in a time when deforestation, global warming, and processed food were completely foreign. In order to thoroughly combat and overcome Earth's destruction, we must create a shift in culture. A shift that focuses on nature and human being part of the same body, rather than two separate and unequal entities. Without this union, the human race, as well as many other species, will soon come to a fatal end.