Ecocritism Analysis

        Our contemporary story focuses on combining current scientific knowledge of wolves with present nature preservation debates.  Although this short story is intended to have a drama appeal to it, throughout the piece you are able to see that the way the wolves are characterized is closely in line with current scientific knowledge of the animal; which in return helps establish credibility as well.  The wolves are first introduced while being watched from a distance, “At the den took a large alpha female wolf who appeared around a hundred pounds, and the slightly bigger beta wolf sat closely behind sat, noticeably bigger than the mate.” (6) While the alpha male wolf was hunting, the rest of the pack patiently waited for him to bring that night's dinner back. It then transitions into construction of a new fly-fishing resort and hits on the simple fact of the humans colliding with the wolves territory; “Gerald had just interfered with her pups.  In a swift defensive move, Rose launched herself at the intruder grabbing him by the outstretched arm.” (12) Wolves very seldom attack humans, however due to the fact that food supply was low because of land destruction and territory invasion the wolves acted in a different way. We illustrated how the intrusive nature of the human being can tremendously backfire.

        In the past few years humans seem to have a greater responsibility toward preserving nature. Specific to wolves, they have been on and off of the endangered specie list. This short story focuses on the importance of granting the wolf its personal space and environment.  Nature and its laws are a powerful thing, however Reed unknowingly explains that he “cannot believe we even thought the wolves were an issue, we have not seen a peek of them!” (8) The human greed once again outplays nature's laws. The construction company chooses to ignore these orders from Kris as he “took the group out into the wild to introduce them to these threats” (6) and later Rusty showing the howl of the “powerful and mighty grey wolf” (8) in order to gain profits.  This in turn causes the wolf attack once a worker strays onto land that is clearly marked with the signs of wolves.  Although this story shows the dangers of the natural world, it also shows that nature does not willingly choose to do this, rather when the human becomes intrusive, nature must put man in his place.

        Human issues are apparent throughout the whole short story, both as a symbol and a metaphoric comparison. We as humans are turning greedier every single day, this modern take on the issue leaves the reader with an idea that is very realistic. Humans must take a step back and respect the great earth and all of the living creatures on it. Even after the horrific attack, the investors were not happy with the decision to halt the project as “Reed was in an uproar, he wanted this investment to be the one that would make him famous worldwide.” (14) Human vs. nature is a widespread theme, and our ecological instincts need to be rewired.  Having been warned multiple times during the story one would think the right action would have taken place before destruction of a prestigious property takes place. But, this is unfortunately not the case. It is not until a nature lover realizes his mistakes that the area becomes attractable to all living creatures;  Weston confirms that “this was not a place to be bulldozed, it was place to be ruled by the wild.” (15)