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Lauren Jacques

Dr. Oost

ENG 401

12 Nov 2018

Into the Mind’s Wild: Technology, Natural Literature, and Children’s Worlds

Humanity and nature share a complicated relationship that does not necessarily go both

ways; humans depend on nature for sustenance and survival, whereas nature is all but burdened

by the existence of humans imposing upon the natural order of things. Over time, however, a

synthesis has been developed between humanity and nature, particularly in the realms of emotion

and understanding. In cultivating a bond with nonhuman living things, a greater sense of

empathy is developed for all living things. This is especially essential in our highly technology-

biased age of living as humanity as a whole experiences less exposure to the natural world and

becomes more occupied with the synthetic. This developmental cycle is of particular relevance to

children growing up surrounded in this technological environment, as the focal point of their

development revolves around the synthetic world and indirect interaction rather than engaged,

involved interactions with their immediate environment, distancing them physically and

emotionally. Literature helps bridge gaps between connections that might otherwise be

inaccessible, particularly to a child isolated by technology. Animal fables give children exposure

to the natural world at a young age and aid in fostering empathetic connections between humans

and animals by presenting animals in an accessible, understandable way, which is essential for

our highly technological era.

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The concept of biophilia, introduced by Kellert and Wilson in Children and Nature:

Psychological, Sociocultural, and Evolutionary Investigations, proposes that humans have an

instinctive connection to the natural world as well as an innate emotional bond that influence

how humans interact with nature. Kellert and Wilson demonstrate this by observing our empathy

for primates, our very close relatives who share many not only physiological but social

similarities to us. However, it is not only primates that we are naturally inclined to empathize

with – adored household pets also play into this equation. Having an animal in a household

produces an automatic bond to nature without even having to go outside; caring for a cat, a dog,

or another animal is very much key to fostering a sense of empathy for the natural world. In

genuinely caring for an animal, we develop an understanding for its wants and needs and seek to

fulfill them. By using familiar animal figures in fictional literature, this connection is further

enhanced as we find comfort in a recognizable animal that we can relate to and appreciate, much

like the dog curled up on our sofa or the housecat sitting at the foot of our bed.

Into the Wild by Erin Hunter utilizes this familiar connection by using cats as the primary

characters. In a setting not too far off from how human society is established, the cats of Into the

Wild are divided into four clans residing in the same forest together, fighting for resources, land,

and basic survival. The social hierarchy is one that bears resemblance to our own social order,

with a leader, a deputy, a medicine cat, a body of warriors, apprentices training to become

warriors, elders, and mothers. By establishing a society that is still unique in itself but shares

similarities with our own, children are able to readily relate to the experiences of these characters

and better understand the environment that the cats are living in. Published in 2003, Into the Wild

is more modern than other notable animal fable counterparts targeted towards children such as
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Charlotte’s Web (1952) or Black Beauty (1877), allowing it to blend seamlessly into our

technology-dominated era by using concepts familiar to our time, such as highways and

industrial construction work, which both pose notable environmental issues in the novel.

Introducing familiar environmental connections early on allows the child to develop a stronger

bond with the story and its characters and inherit a deep sense of empathy for a fictional world

that can be carried over to the real world.

Animal fables bridge the gap created by modernization and technology by giving children

ready access to the natural world. As explained by Saunders and Myers in Children and Nature,

the prominence of animal figures in human products of the mind such as folktales and creation

stories demonstrate our connection between animals and nature. They propose that while other

aspects of the natural world, such as plants, weather, water, and so on, are essential and

influential to the lives of humans, it is the unique dynamism of animals that enable us to truly

care for the natural world. Into the Wild makes contact with this sympathetic connection by using

the familiar household figure of felines to encourage empathy and a means of communicating

ideas and issues to the child reader. Children, with all their unabashed imagination and curiosity,

are considerably well-attuned to the plight of animals and can readily foster a connection even to

a fantasy world. The fact that it is fantasy makes it even more accessible to the minds of children

as it captures their imagination and gives them room to wonder and consider, unstifled by the

constraints of reality. While fantasy, the fable of Into the Wild still remains close enough to the

real world so as to maintain a sense of believability and make it easier for children to draw

connections between the fictional world and the real world.

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The events of Into the Wild play upon many familiar human themes that reach close to

home. For example, territorial strife and war as the four clans – ThunderClan, ShadowClan,

RiverClan, and WindClan – battle for limited resources is a focal point of the story, especially as

kits are trained from a young age to become warriors to hunt and fight for their clan. Religion

also plays a key role in the cats’ society with the ancestral clan StarClan, whom the medicine

cats communicate with regularly in order to stay connected to their ancestors and to receive

prophecies for their clans. These themes are important to introduce to children early on so that

they can be prepared to deal with them in the real world. Getting fictional exposure to war and

violence sets them up to face the harsh reality of real life violence – not to desensitize them, but

to brace them for the cruelty of the real world, which can be hard to stomach when thrown

blindly into the midst of it. Territorial strife has always been an extremely prominent issue and

often the root of violence in many areas; exposure to the topic enables the child reader to

understand why it happens, how it plays out, and how it is eventually resolved. Into the Wild

teaches that war resolves nothing and only fosters grudges, such as the ongoing territorial dispute

between ThunderClan and ShadowClan for an area called the Sunningrocks, a contentious

location that is at the heart of the novel’s plot. Exposure to religion early on also encourages

children to have an open mind regarding religious practices and develop a better understanding

as to why these beliefs are so important to people. The presence of StarClan in the novel is a

source of comfort for the cats of Into the Wild as their beloved ones who have passed are never

too far out of reach from them, tying into many real life religious practices which believe in a

bond between this life and the afterlife.

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As Bettelheim states in The Uses of Enchantment, “the most important task in raising a

child is helping them find meaning in life” (7). Into the Wild uses relatable themes in a cohesive

pattern that parallels the everyday struggles of humanity, helping children learn about and how to

cope with difficulties, differences, changes, etc. Into the Wild, the very first novel of the

extensive series, is specifically targeted at an age group of 9-14 years. Developmental themes of

this time period include the transition from primary school to middle school, in which the

formation of cliques and selective friend groups is core, as well as the shaping of self-identity

and an increasing desire to “belong”. This idea is reflected throughout Into the Wild, as the main

protagonist, Rusty, a housecat who yearns to escape the boundaries of his home, finds himself

integrating into a society unlike anything he has experienced before. Initiated into ThunderClan

with the name Firepaw, he faces discrimination for his status as a former “kittypet” and his

abilities and loyalties are repeatedly challenged by his peers. He is essentially an outsider, which

many children feel that they are when placed into a new environment, especially one with such a

tumultuous social hierarchy like middle school. He also has to learn to follow a new set of rules,

the Warriors’ Code, as well as adapt to social norms that he was not exposed to in his time as a

housecat, such as deferring to a leader, attending gatherings, and prioritizing his clan’s wellbeing

over his own. Children who may have fallen out of social touch due to an overuse of technology

– spending too much time online – may find themselves comforted by this grounding concept

and have an easier time integrating into their new environment. Firepaw is a relatable protagonist

for his outsider status and for his progression of integrating into a brand new society where he

must learn how to adapt to clan life and how to productively navigate his clanmates’

discriminatory behavior.
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The way children’s stories differentiate from other genres is that they are designed to

cater to certain problems relevant to that age group. As Bettelheim states, literature needs to

“stimulate and nurture those resources he needs most in order to cope with his difficult inner

problems” (4). The purpose of children’s literature is to teach and introduce concepts early on to

ready the child to face them later on in life. Most importantly, it must “be attuned to his anxieties

and aspirations” and “give full recognition to his difficulties, while at the same time suggesting

solutions to problems” (5). Into the Wild accomplishes this by placing Firepaw into an anxiety-

inducing situation where we are able to witness his progress and how he learns to cope with his

new environment.

For example, learning how to hunt properly is initially a challenge for him; he needs to be

attuned to the direction of the wind, the leaves crunching beneath his paws, and the heartbeat of

the prey he is hunting. This attention to surroundings can be paralleled to the real world where

children need to be keyed into their environment in order to understand what is happening

around them and how to react accordingly. In social settings, they need to be aware of other

people and the social atmosphere and know how to respond appropriately, lest they risk scaring

off their target of interest and losing a valuable opportunity. However, it is also important to

learn how to lose and also how to learn from it. Firepaw fails to catch prey multiple times, mice

slipping out from beneath his clumsy, untrained paws, but each failure only makes him stronger

and more sure of himself that he can achieve it next time. In subtle ways, Into the Wild

recognizes the difficulties of growing up as a human and proposes solutions and alternatives to

problems that might arise. Youth is never easy, and that is reflected in Firepaw’s growth

throughout the novel.

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Similarly, friendship and kinship are other common themes of Into the Wild, as Firepaw

spends much of his time bonding with his fellow apprentices Graypaw and Ravenpaw. This

demonstrates the development of specific social circles and cliques in middle school, the target

age for this novel, as the three apprentices are viewed as outcasts for the beginning half of the

novel – Firepaw for his “kittypet” status, and Graypaw and Ravenpaw for associating with him.

Firepaw’s friendship with his fellow apprentices shows to children the importance of choosing

friends carefully and learning to navigate unfamiliar or hostile social environments, as well as

how developing bonds with the right people can help one overcome obstacles. Kinship is also an

essential part of surviving in the wild, as the clans respectively share a very deep bond with their

clanmates, and their livelihood is dependent on the clan being able to function as a cohesive and

organized unit.

Kinship not only means friendship but also loyalty and respect, and having respect for the

leader is a foremost priority, as the leader is what holds the clan together. This teaches children

the importance of deferring to authority figures, but the novel also points out that the figures in

charge should not always be blindly trusted. Brokenstar, the leader of ShadowClan, schemes to

greedily seize more territory for his clan after driving WindClan from their lands, and an

esteemed warrior of ThunderClan, Tigerclaw, betrays the clan by secretly killing one of their

own and consequently driving an apprentice from the clan. While respect and loyalty are held up

as important ideals, what the novel demonstrates as most important is educated loyalty. Firepaw

learns of Tigerclaw’s machinations against the clan that resulted in the driving out of his friend

Ravenpaw and swears to uphold the Warriors’ Code by putting a stop to his nefarious actions,

with the help of Graypaw.

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Becoming emotionally invested in Firepaw is essential for children to nurture their bond

with nature, which the collective group of writers under the pseudonym Erin Hunter

accomplished by depicting the protagonist with themes familiar to humans. This investment is

important because of its bridge between the natural world and children, a chasm which is

deepened by the ever-growing presence of technology in children’s lives. In Last Child in the

Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, Richard Louv expresses his concern

for the increasing lack of “green time” for children, which he defines as “unstructured play and

interaction with the real world” (Penny 28). Children putting themselves in the mind of Firepaw

stimulates their imagination for the natural world, giving them access to an imaginative realm

they might otherwise be deprived of; Firepaw’s relatability as a youthful figure further enhances

this connection as children can more readily relate to his image and put themselves in his shoes

(or paws, rather).

Victoria Penny, who summed up Louv’s novel and conducted research on the importance

of “green time” for children, concluded a number of things about the depiction of nature in

literature, one of which was the fact that the portrayal of nature often reflected what was

happening in real life society (29). This is pertinent in Into the Wild in that the issues within the

novel also tie into real life problems, such as the issue of territory and fighting for limited

resources, which has stood at the heart of a number of wars or conflicts. The society of Into the

Wild itself also reflects human society with its social hierarchy and its way of functioning and

assigning roles – there are mothers who care for the kits, elders who are respected and taken care

of, warriors who work for the clan, etc. By paralleling real life, children are not only able to

relate to the story more readily but can also see a different perspective of their lives reflected in

the story.
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Penny explores books from all across the ages, including one of the earliest books that

was targeted specifically towards children titled the Little Pretty Pocket-Book, published in 1744.

The main purpose of the book was “Instruction with Delight” (29), or teaching children by

means of physical activity and fun. With children treated as “little adults” back then, books like

this were especially important in allowing kids to just be kids, and to enhance their worldview

not with tedious work but with enjoyable and stimulating activity. The book promoted health and

exercise by showing depictions of children playing outside and explaining activities with which

children could diver themselves (29). The fantasy world of Into the Wild is not quite as direct as

to be instructing children to go outside and play, but its deep connection with the natural world

does allow children to foster a better sense of what it is like to be outdoors and to stimulate their

imagination.

Penny explains the importance of play in a child’s development, with similar words to

Bettelheim about the importance of literature to children, in that it is essential that a child’s sense

of wonder is stimulated so that they may grow and foster deep connections with their

environment, both social and natural. Outdoor play is a particular concern of Penny’s when it

comes to a child’s development, which is what the heart of her research revolves around (28),

particularly for children of the twenty-first century who might be deprived of such play because

of continued exposure to isolating technology. She is especially concerned with books that depict

or encourage outdoors play. Into the Wild is one such novel that piques the reader’s imagination

by presenting a vast fantastical yet believable world of cats living in the wild, functioning in a

social hierarchy not too far isolated from how the real world operates, and introducing familiar

concepts that can be understood easily by children as well as applied to the real world.
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Penny also focuses on illustrations in children’s stories that depict the natural world. In

more recent editions of the Warriors series, each chapter is accompanied by a hand-drawn

illustration of one of the felines of the story, and like the older editions, characters are also

depicted on the cover of each novel in their natural environments. By not only explaining but

displaying the beauty of the natural world, children are able to connect themselves more deeply

to the natural world, especially as visual depictions, are key to capturing children’s interest (32).

Penny also notes that depicting the beauty of the natural world might encourage ideas of

preservation, especially as the environment has been so rapidly consumed by industrialization,

which is one of the key components to the plot of the Warriors series as well as briefly touched

upon in Into the Wild. The monstrous, destructive machines of the “twolegs” – humans – destroy

their precious environment, and the novel depicts the impact that this has on each of the four

clans as they struggle even more with their limited resources – prey are scared off by the noise

and their habitats are destroyed, and the cats lose valuable territory and are displaced as trees are

torn down.

By depicting these events to children as more personal occurrences, expressing them

from the viewpoint of the animals which are the most affected by the environmental damage,

Penny explains that “the plea to care for the environment becomes more personal to the reader”

(32). In seeing the destruction of nature from the perspective of those who are most affected,

children develop a better sense of empathy and understanding as to why it is so important and

valuable to help care for and preserve the environment. The visual depictions of the animals and

their environments further aid this idea by giving children beautiful visuals that they can more

easily envision in their minds and stimulate their imaginations with.

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Another group of authors from Michigan State University also argue for the importance

of play as a tool in children’s social and emotional development. Many fail to see play as both a

stimulating and educational experience as it is associated with a viewpoint of “just for fun”

(Henriksen 5), meaning it is not taken seriously enough at school nor at home as a valuable and

enriching experience. There is a notable correlation between playing and learning as the Swiss

psychologist Jean Piaget describes three forms of play that pertain to what the Michigan State

authors define as “deep play”: there is “practice play”, which involves the development of a set

of skills; “symbolic play”, which involves deriving and making meaning and using objects in

creative ways besides their original intent; and “game play”, which involves creating rules and

giving structure, creating a purposeful activity (6).

A particularly relevant example proposed by the authors is watching young cats play

together; while they’re engaging in a playful activity, they’re also learning essential skills such

as how to defend themselves, how and when to attack, and how to hunt. Play fighting between

cats is described as a “learning adaptation”, meaning it is used to develop various skills besides

the one that seems most obvious. They are not only playing, but also learning how to survive.

Cats of Into the Wild are similarly using the same play-and-survival skills in their daily lives,

which children can observe and absorb as the fact is presented: it is possible to play and learn at

the same time. Using cats to stimulate their imagination, children can then put these practices

into play themselves and delve into a world of fantasy while still remaining in touch with reality.

Play helps promote social and emotional development, enhancing their understanding of the

world and allowing them to engage in successful, productive interactions with their peers (6).
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The Michigan authors also discuss the concept of creating worlds through creative play,

defined as “worldplay”, which is not entirely dissimilar from inventing a world for the purpose

of using in a fictional story. By having the ability to create their own worlds, children are able to

enjoy an immersive experience that also enhances their empathy by allowing them to develop

new perspectives and modes of living. As described by the authors, worldplay is in-depth and

imaginative, extending beyond typical make-believe and resulting in the construction of a world

that develops a “complex cultural identity” (7). The reward of worldplay is that the creator is

influenced by a new interpretation of reality that can be utilized not only in present day but in the

future throughout adulthood. The authors confirm a correlation between worldplay and adult

creativity, which is also evidenced by the fact that a group of adult writers were able to create the

imaginative world of Into the Wild; as fantasy writers, they almost certainly engaged in some

form of worldplay themselves as children, likely influenced by other fantasy novels, which then

carried over into adulthood. Into the Wild can therefore have a similarly positive and creative

effect on child readers by enabling their creative minds and encouraging out-of-the-box thinking;

after all, being able to understand the language of cats in English is not a frequently entertained

idea.

Play is also described as encouraging the bonding of trans-disciplinary topics, such as art,

psychology, music, and science. Into the Wild’s worldplay not only touches upon issues pertinent

to reality but also intersects boundaries between subjects such as faith and religion, social

adaptation, environmentalism, and animal biology. In facilitating these different subjects, a

harmony of topics is created that enables children to apply these ideas to real life.
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By developing a better understanding of the natural world through literature, children

enrich their own worlds and develop a better sense of empathy for their natural environment as

well as a deeper connection. In an era dominated by technology, it is easy to become isolated

from one’s immediate environment, especially when the true importance of play and nature is

not emphasized in school environments. Into the Wild demonstrates the importance of caring for

the environment by allowing children to emphasize with a relatable protagonist and cast of

characters despite a difference in species. The fact that an emotional bridge can be connected

between the reader and the cats in spite of the aforementioned fact proves the relevance and

importance of nature in our lives, as well as how we are intrinsically emotionally bonded with

nature and inclined towards investing ourselves in nature. Animal fables like Into the Wild as a

whole have contributed to the natural imaginations of children and enhanced experiences with

nature by showing new perspectives of the natural world in unique and stimulating ways.
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Works Cited

Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1975-76.

Blount, Margaret. Animal Land. William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1975.

Candland, Douglas. Feral Children and Clever Animals: Reflections on Human Nature. Oxford
University Press, 1993.

Henriksen, D., Keenan, S., Richardson, C., & Mishra, P. (2015). “Rethinking technology &
creativity in the 21st century modeling as a trans-disciplinary formative skill and practice.”
TechTrends, 59 (3), 5-10.

Kahn, Peter and Kellert, Stephen. Children and Nature: Psychological, Sociocultural, and
Evolutionary Investigations. The MIT Press, 2002.

Larson, David. “Online Dispute Resolution: Do You Know Where Your Children Are?”
Negotiation Journal vol. 19, no. 3, Jul. 2003, pp. 199-205.

Lukens, Rebecca. A Critical Handbook of Children’s Literature. Scotts, Foreman and Company,
1976.