Wildfire

Nature’s Simultaneous Power and Fragility manifests in new ways in this penultimate section of Wildfire. The heat storm is an unexpected challenge and a rude awakening. Under such circumstances, there is little that Sam and Delphy can do: Sam covers his ears and lies flat, while Delphy shakes her fist at the sky in frustration. Neither approach is likely to make the storm pass any faster, though Sam’s approach may be safer and more sensible. Sometimes, nature’s power exposes its fragility. The bear is a great example of such fragility; the bear, like Sam and Delphy, is afraid of the heat storm and the approaching fire. It might look fearsome, but it scampers away when it hears the Jeep’s horn. The bear is a good reminder that humans are not the only ones impacted by the fires: Animals are also being displaced and feeling confused and unsettled from this disruption to their usual routines.

When Sam and Delphy reach the lake and immediately walk into the water, readers are reminded of just how hot the weather has been throughout this whole ordeal. Given the physical effort they are undertaking each day just to survive, Sam and Delphy are lucky not to have developed heat stroke. Consistent temperatures in the mid-90s can be extremely dangerous. The lake serves as a reminder of this background challenge, which has been important to Sam and Delphy’s journey. It was perhaps not necessary to discuss the heat itself because there were so many other problems impacting Sam and Delphy: The heat that drives the fire feels like an afterthought to the fire itself, but it is still essential to the plot.

After a day of relative reprieve, Survival and Resilience Through Crisis is once more an urgent matter. Both characters must demonstrate quick thinking and clear-headedness to get out of the situations they face, especially in the morning. When Sam sees the bear, he freezes up. Delphy, who previously expressed a greater fear of bears than Sam, is brave and clever enough to press the horn immediately.

Both characters also keep their cool when the Jeep runs out of gas. As the car dies, Sam reflects, “[W]e should be really upset, but for some reason we’re not. Maybe the storm and the fire and the bear was all the upset we could handle” (122). After so many challenges, Sam and Delphy’s thresholds for distress are much greater than they used to be. This is a good thing: It means that they do not let small problems overwhelm them. Moreover, if they were to instead grow too confident or let their feelings tip into despair instead of panic, then they would face even more setbacks on the road to safety. As long as they maintain their hope and their confidence, they can find ways to keep going. When they do remain calm and reach the camp, they are rewarded for their efforts with food. They may not yet be out of the woods, literally or metaphorically, but they have found more resources to help them survive.

The developments in Sam and Delphy’s relationship also underscore The Essentiality of Friendship and Connection, particularly the importance of empathy and teamwork in difficult situations. On the fifth day of their journey, their sibling relationship is finally made explicit. As they discuss their next moves over dinner at the camp, Delphy offers up “a toast to us, little brother,” voicing the same thought that Sam considered several days earlier (137). In clarifying the nature of their relationship—platonic, not romantic—the text emphasizes the value of friendship founded on mutual vulnerability, understanding, and support. Although they are closer than ever, there are still big differences between them. Delphy’s worst fear is that she will never stop growing; Sam’s is that his mother will die. Their life experiences up to this point have been very dissimilar. Despite that disconnect, Delphy brings the conversation back to common ground by pointing out that if they let go of their fears, they can focus on the things they can control instead of the things they cannot. Centering their conversation on pragmatism and teamwork helps them focus on what links them rather than what keeps them apart, further enabling them to persevere and survive their ordeal.