Question

At the end of Chapter 24, Karana states, “Animals and birds are like people, too, though they do not talk the same or do the same things. Without them the earth would be an unhappy place.” What does Karana mean by this? What makes her think this way?

Answer 1

Karana means that animals and birds are just as important and valuable as humans, even though they have different ways of communicating and behaving. She thinks this way because she has spent so much time alone on an island, where the animals and birds are her only companions. She has come to appreciate and respect them as living beings, and recognizes that they are an essential part of the natural world.