Odder

“Numbers are aloof,

but names are sticky,

fusing rescuer to rescued,

scientist to subject,

human to otter.”

When first introducing Odder, the author refers to her by the number that the aquarists have assigned to her: Otter #156. By introducing her first from the way humans perceive her, the author subtly reminds readers of their relationship to her as a human relating to an animal, evoking the theme of The Role of Human-Animal Relationships in Conservation. The asyndeton (lack of coordinating conjunctions) and parallelism of “rescuer to rescued, scientist to subject, human to otter” likewise suggests the different ways that the humans in the novel relate to the otters. Additionally, this quote establishes the motif of names and how they signify the bond between humans and animals, further reinforcing that theme.

“Her mother called her ‘Odder’

from the moment

she was born.

Something about the way

the little pup never settled,

something about the way

her eyes were always

full of questions.”

In the character’s introduction, the author characterizes Odder as uniquely curious, a trait that sets her apart from other otters. This establishes curiosity as one of Odder’s core traits that drives the events of Part 1; in Part 3, its absence signals Odder’s crisis point in her character arc.