Throughout The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh, it is beyond evident that the relationships between the characters change and evolve. At the beginning of the novel we are introduced to two characters by the name of Piya and Kanai. Off the bat we are introduced to Kanai’s borderline narcissistic character in contrast to Piya’s open mind set. We are immediately shown that Kanai comes from a wealthy family and has a great deal of education as he openly admits during their first meeting. Whereas Piya humbly notes that she is a marine biologist searching the waters for a specific group of dolphins. Although the two characters are evidently quite polar opposites, Ghosh writes the novel in a romantic way leading readers to have a feeling that the two characters would meet regardless of the differences they share as well as the physical distance that is in between them at the beginning and towards the middle. A new character is then introduced by the name of Fokir; a poor fisherman and although they do not speak the same language they are able to communicate and understand each other in a way that reaches beyond languages. They are able to bond in a way that Piya and Kanai were not, creating a love triangle of three as well as tension. It creates questions and comparisons between not only Fokir and Kanai but also Piya as well. Kanai, a womanizer, is always looking towards the future, never able to fully live in their present nor the past. It raises the question of whether Kanai really wants anything more than to sleep with Piya, anything beyond just a sexual relationship. However, the same question can be raised between Forkir and Piya. The two have a relationship that no one but each other would fully be able to understand. Without knowing a lick of the others’ language they are able to get close and gain a connection and interest in one another. Arguably speaking we can see that Forkir’s connection to nature is what makes him so attractive to Piya, and Piya being a young attractive young woman as well as the similar interest in sea life is also a playing factor. Now this connection is going undeniably strong until one thing happens in the community. Within the community that Forkir and his wife live in, a tiger enters and is then trapped. It is said to be tradition that the tiger to enter the village is a tiger fated to death. Piya is quick to disagree and acknowledge the fact that Forker, a man she thought she had similar morals to, would agree with her. However, Piya finds out that she is indeed wrong and Forkir is at the forefront of trying to kill the tiger. This new found information creates multiple questions for Piya as she now starts to wonder if she really knew Forkir as much as she thought she had. As well as the realization that maybe their way of communication had not been as effective as she/they thought. 

In chapters one through seven of Parable of the Sower, we are introduced not only to the world of the main protagonist, Lauren but also to the world inside of her mind. We are given bits and pieces of details of her beliefs as well as information on the people surrounding her. These details are given to us in the form of diary entries written by Lauren. Although it seems to not be the main focus of the book, it is interesting to see the generational trauma that seems to be unfolding within just the first few chapters. A good example of this would be Tracy and Amy Dunn. From what we learn, Tracy had given birth to Amy at the age of 13 as a result of her uncle raping her. We are told how before Amy Dunn’s death at the age of 3, it was clear that she had been neglected by her mother. Amy was said to be dirty, malnourished as well as starved for attention. It is not directly stated anywhere in the text that the malnourishment of Amy Dunn is directly associated with generational trauma, but that never happens anywhere when most don’t even realize the pattern. However, by connecting a couple of dots we can make the assumption that the neglect plus sexual abuse that Tracy was forced to face at the hands of her own family left an impact on the way she had acting as a mother. Lauren mentioned that Tracy did not seem to have the motherly instincts that most mothers do, however, she fails to understand just how young Tracy was. It’s important to note how she must not have had those instincts due to the fact that she was not mentally mature enough to be a mother in the first place. Not much is mentioned about Tracy’s mother but her lack of presence must also be a playing factor in the way she treats her daughter.

Falter by Mckibben follows the slow but sure decay of the earth we now call home. In the beginning we are introduced to the idea of roofing and shingles as well as the complexity of our society. We are explained the twists and turns of our minds through the use of roofing history. Roofs are something we see in our everyday lives and yet no one really stops to pay attention to the roof keeping them dry in the rain. Mckibben takes this opportunity to make a connection to how our society views and experiences climate change. Throughout history, the materials that homosapiens used to build roofs and shelter evolved. It led us to use different resources that our Earth provides for us. However, as the population increases, the more resources are used and the less there is left. Climate change has been an issue we have been facing for years and more years to come. We are taught the phrase in schools, we see the ads on instagram, twitter, and other social media platforms. We see it and hear it so much that we barely pay attention to drasticity of the term. We fail to realize that the interactions we have with the earth, even the ones we don’t realize, are leaving an everlasting impact. An impact that we will not be able to take back. Mckibben refers to the issue as “the human game” explaining how each move we take have na impact on the end result or also known as the end game. Mckibben explores the idea that Earth only has a limited supply to provide however, we act as if there is an endless amount of resources. “We’re quite accustomed to this idea of progress, so accustomed that some can’t imagine anything else” (5) Mckibben explains how as a society we are so used to going for the bigger and better. We are constantly trying to evolve and become better yet we need to understand that we are stealing from the Earth and there will we will not longer have access to many resources we take for granted everyday. Mckibben uses a metaphor of a man falling off a building knowing that he will meet the pavement at “discouraging speed”, he uses the analogy in order to explain how we tend to ignore the climate change crisis we are facing until we are so close to the pavement that we’ll simply not be able to. Kckibben states “sometimes we scares ourselves for a season” (7), communicating the matter of avoidance further. We are told that we focus too much on our stories as individuals rather than our miniscule part in the bigger picture. He closes off with a bluntly said wake up call, “It will happen right where you live and it could happen today. No one will be spared” (27). He emphasizes the idea that we are all in this together. Climate change is not an issue of the past and not an issue for one person or another but a combined issue we must all accept the reality of.