Some may wonder how a book like "The Thief of Always," connects to ecology. As we all know, every little thing in this world is somehow connected to science, and if we carefully look for clues in the text, we may find simple imstances that connect to ecology.
In "The Thief of Always," Harvey is a young boy who is bored of his life. February seems to be a lifeless and insipid month with a never ending mass of dark, dismal skies. Harvey is desperate to go to a place of excitement where the sun is always shining and everyday is exhilarating. This all changes when Rictus, a minion from the Holiday House, comes to Harvey's rescue. Harvey is taken to the Holiday House, a rapturous house filled with surprises, mysteries, and illusions. This unprecentented house has all four seasons in a period of which we infer is twenty-four hours.
The seasons that take place at the holiday house all connect to ecology as well as all the foods that the boys are devouring delightfuly.
In the morning, when Harvey wakes up, buds are sprouting on the trees and the aroma of sweet flowers tickle Harvey's sences. By high noon, the sun is high in the sky and the heat is overwhelming. By supper, the withered leaves have fallen and you can feel the scrunch underneath your feet. As Harvey prepares for his bed, he is pleasantly welcomed by winter. A soft blanket of snow covers the Holiday House as Harvey drifts into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Obviously, we all know that this isn't known to be possible in real life. However, the changes in seasons and Harvey's interactions with his enviornment does relate to ecology.
Ecology is "the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their enviornment, including other organisms"(http://www.dictionary.com/). In this book, we see how Harvey reacts, adapts, and changes according to his enviornment. The seasons cause him to change his clothing and eat different types of food. For instance, at night, when it's winter, Harvey and Wendell bundle up in warm clothes and eat hot foods. Where as during lunch, Mrs. Griffin, the cook, probably fed them something refreshing which kept them cool from the hot summer sun. This is how humans adapt to their enviornment. When Harvey and Wendell eat meat and vegetables, they are also part of the global foodweb. In addition, all the characters, such as Rictus and Jive, have roles and jobs that they are obliged to do for Mr. Hood. This is like the Nich of an organism in the eco-system. Lastly, the aberrent fish in the mysterious lake is a population of kids. Population is also another term which connects to ecology. Population is the number of organisms in an area. In this case, it is the population of fish in the lake.
Who knew that our lit. book could connect to ecology in so many ways!!! :)
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