"Perpetual Motion"

Paper Summary:

This is a short book summary and responses to environmental issue questions on Gibson's book "Perpetual Motion". "Perpetual Motion" tells us of the mindset of the Ontario settlers which was to tame rather than to find harmony with nature and of the consequences of ignoring the lessons of our natural world. It looks at how this novel is relevant today as we continue to value progress and civilization over nature despite polluted water, air and subsequent problems this arrogance causes humans.

From the Paper:

"Perpetual Motion opens with settler Robert Fraser discovering a dinosaur skeleton buried in a field he is laboriously clearing of stumps. As the story leads up to the unearthing, there is a distinct sense of monotony to Fraser's life, of opportunities missed as he remembers "once he discovered that an elephant had left the previous day for Montreal. (Gibson 12)" This represents a turning point where monotony turns to desperation and Fraser's dreams result in his overtly wasteful and violent destruction of his natural surroundings. Fraser is locked in a battle of control with his land and the discovery impels an obsession to create a perpetual motion machine that will free him of manual labour. "

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