A Land Remembered

For Zech, the drought pond where prey and predator alike gather to share water peacefully symbolizes his hopes that the human race may live in harmony. When Zech first encounters the pond—the only water source for miles amid a devastating drought—he predicts it will be the site of Darwinian chaos and violence once night falls. He says, “I’d sure like to be here when all them critters come together at the pond. That’ll be a sight to see. I’ll bet the fur’ll fly thicker than dandelions” (166). Yet when he returns to the pond later in the evening, the scene couldn’t be more different: “There were no growls of anger, no warnings to move away, no snarling flashes of superiority—[only] deadly natural enemies […] sharing equally a thing they all must have to survive” (167).

For years to come, Zech revisits the spellbinding memory. But as he comes to witness ever more depraved acts of human violence between men fighting over the land, he realizes humanity will never live in similar harmony: “[I]f the wilderness shrinks, pushing more and more men together, there will be explosions without end. Some will yield but others won’t, and someone will be hurt. It will never be like the animals sharing water” (270).