Prodigal Summer

Coyotes are a prominent symbol of the importance of predators and the raw power and resilience of nature throughout Prodigal Summer. Despite humans’ efforts to wipe out the creatures, coyotes have persisted; as Deanna explains, because coyotes breed faster and work in groups when they’re hunted, “killing adults increases the chances of survival for the young” (326). Coyotes represent nature’s ability to return to a balance, despite human interference: with the coyotes’ reemergence in the Zebulon Forest, the ecosystem will once again have a “keystone predator” (62) that allows all species to thrive.

Coyotes also illustrate the theme of interconnectedness in the novel, as multiple characters see coyotes and recognize their natural magnificence. Lusa thinks that “if she could find just one other person in this county who didn’t feel the need to shoot a coyote on sight […] then she’d have a friend” (409). This “other person,” of course, is Deanna Wolfe. Even Garnett, who believes humankind should have dominion over nature, senses the powerful “wildness” of the coyotes, and that “this was where they lived” (393)—that the animals belong in Zebulon, and humans have no right to chase them off.

Kingsolver ends Prodigal Summer with a female coyote’s viewpoint, as the coyote tracks another male and thinks that by “mating season, they would all know each other’s whereabouts” (443).