Literature Analytic

Days of Heaven By Rick Bass is a piece of nature fiction. There are three dominant characters that are in the midst of deciding what to do with the valley- a piece of land that Quentin owns. Quentin is the big guy in charge and has the most say over what happens because of his power as owner and wealth from being a stockbroker. He has a nasty temper and causes a lot of destruction in his surroundings and the environment outside the house on the valley. He also has children that follow his violent actions and every time they visit the valley, havoc ensues. Quentin’s business partner is named Zim. Zim’s role is nothing, except that of an accomplice, and a man who wants to make money no matter the consequences. He has no regard for others or nature, which is evident in his willingness to destroy the valley with his idea to bulldoze it. The plan is to bulldoze the entire valley and create a lake out of it to make money off of rich people. A third party that has been taking note of the bulldozing plans has the thought, “…how narrow the boundary is between invisibility and collusion. If you don’t stop it, if you don’t single-handedly step up and change things, then aren’t you just as guilty?” This means that if a person watches the environment being hurt or destroyed in a way that is legally or morally wrong, they are just as guilty. By simply watching this go by without doing something about it, puts some of the blame of the problem on the third person. This matters because this happens often in the world and that’s why the environment is so messed up. The good thing is that this person overhearing the plans did try to do something about it. This third character that is unnamed is the narrator. The narrator is the caretaker of the ranch and stays there for a couple years; he is extremely fond of nature and aims to keep the valley the way it is meant to be-tranquil and not disrupted. The narrator manages to find a way to save the valley by giving Quentin and Zim an idea that guaranteed them money, and one which saves the valley from complete destruction. Basically this entails Zim and Quentin renting out the house that’s in the valley for a lot of money during the winter and summer months. This idea of his is actually sacrificial because the narrator has come to think of the ranch as his own and resents whenever anyone. Essentially his idea to save the valley destroys his chances of staying in his home and the environment he loves. The story concludes with the thought that this idea is going to take place and the valley will be safe for a while, free of threats.
There is a lot of symbolism in this short story. The characters represent the different roles and views of people in the real world. Quentin is the citizen who doesn’t know what is right and is easily convinced of what is wrong and right by Zims. He is destructive-to the environment, and often destroys without knowing so. He raises ignorant children who imitate his destructive behavior in and toward the environment. Zim represents the business man and businesses that only want to make quick money, with no regard for the destruction they create while doing so. He has no regard for what it does for the environment and is only concerned about his current propositions. He is unable to change his ideals. The last type of person that is on our earth are those who can identify with the narrator. This person is one who sees the destruction of others and tries to do something about it. They also care about the environment. Those are the type of people that coexist in the same environment. Unfortunately, there are many Zims and Quentins out there; uneducated, ignorant, and willing to do anything for money. Especially in the current economy there are many people willing to sacrifice their morals for money and don’t acknowledge what it does to the environment. Ideally, this book suggests that it would be best to live like the narrator, because it would best for the environment to keep things simple.