Somebody got a picture of one running between two taxicabs.” Deanna Wolfe “Coyotes have turned up in every one of the continental United States in the last few years. This idea is one of the major themes which the novel pursues. Three distinct storylines are pursued individually which all inexorably wind up colliding with each other. The interconnectedness of everything is essentially a description of the novel in miniature. Genetic mutation that turned a blob floating into the ocean into a creature capable of walking onto the shore is connected to the fundamental properties of human reproduction which is connected to grafting trees.

Things are going on within the conversation that are not distinctly related yet wind up all being interconnected. So even within this one single short conversation there exist multiple levels. Nannie is here speaking of evolution though the stimulus of the conversation is sexual reproduction and the essence of that topic is about cross-pollinating tree.

And then, some way, they got to where they’d cross their genes with one another and turn out a little variety, from mutations and such. “Well, probably for just millions of years there were little blobs of things in the sea, all just alike, splitting in two and making more of themselves. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

The prodigal summer summary