" WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING " : THE HARMONY OF NATURE AND HUMANITY
Summary of the book
Where the Crawdads Sing tells the story of Kya, an abandoned girl who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina. For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" haunted Barkley Cove, isolating the sharp and resilient Kya from her community. Drawn to two young men from town, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world; but when one of them is found dead, she is immediately cast by the community as the main suspect. As the case unfolds, the verdict as to what actually happened becomes increasingly unclear, threatening to reveal the many secrets that lay within the marsh.
To prove that this world can exist, I chose a book called " Where the crawdads sing " and written by Delia Owens. The story follows a young girl living alone in the swamps of North Carolina. Her life is the perfect example of a possible cohesion with nature.
The history of a cohesion between nature and human
To prove the theory about the harmony between humanity and nature is possible, I chose a book. This book was written by Delia Owens and was published in 2018. The title is " Where the crawdads sing ". This title may seem very strange, yet this novel gives us a very good overview of the possible cohesion with nature. This book is also very interesting because he is very realistic. We follow the adventures of a girl named Catherine Danielle Clarke or just Kya for here family/friends. She has always lived in the swamp of North Carolina. She was raised in a fractured family where the father is violent with any member of the family. Each member of the family was gone until the day when the father is also gone. It’s on this world where Kya had to live alone even if she was very young. To survive, she had to learn to live alone in the swamp without any technology and with only few person to dépend on. During all her life she continued to learn from nature by observing and drawing it.
" During all her life she continued to learn from nature by observing and drawing it. "
So this swamp was her environment and it was the only place where she felt at home. During all the story, she will make a lot of references to nature in the description of her life just like if she lived according to the codes of the swamp. The end also make us a reflexion about our society codes.
A possible cohesion
Even if this story is a fiction, it allows us to show that a world in harmony with nature is possible and also beneficial.. Firstly, it’s possible because even if this harmony require huge changes it’s enough to want and believe in it to do so. We have never lived in a complet harmony with nature. We just see it like a « freak ».
" For Kya, it was enough to be part of this natural sequence of events, punctuated by the same regularity as the tides. She felt attached to her planet in a way that few people know. She was rooted in the earth. She owed her life. "
Extract from the book Where the crawdads sing, published in 2018 et written by Delia Owens
That is why a world in cohesion with nature seems impossible to us in our society. But it’s not impossible. The goal is not to give up overnight and live in a swamp like Kya. The real goal is to do this transition gradually through concrete actions. Governments have difficulty accepting this reality. They have difficulty starting this transition. But nothing can stop us to start this transition in our level. In the book, Kya continues learning about the nature by spending a lot of time to observe it. She shares her environment with all the species that inhabit in the swamp without trying to hunt them.
That is the real example we must follow. Do not just observe this nature like a « freak » or dominate it but we should try to understand the nature.. To do that, we can just walk in forest the weekend or just take the bus instead of our cars. We must not hunt species for no reason or even destroy entire forests, without understanding how they work or without trying to observe the ecosystem who lives in peace before.
A beneficial cohesion
Therefore, all of this could be possible but also beneficial for us. We have made a society with many outdated codes. Nature does not judge anyone. Nature does not see the difference between a particular skin colour. Nature is fair and impartial.
" Nature is fair and impartial. "
Each one has its place and each one built a little part of an entire ecosystem. This is what we see in the book. The swamp contains an impressive amount of species. However, everyhing seems calm and peaceful. This is the atmosphere that the book give to us. This peace that reigns in this swamp and that will even be reflected in Kya’s behaviour. So nature could also allow us to progress in our way of thinking and our way of behaving.
