"The Ear, the Eye and the Arm," by Nancy Farmer, is a sci-fi novel set in Zimbabwe, 2194. Although a strange choice for setting, it's in no doubt a very clever and intentional choice by the author. When most people think about futuristic cities, they about think huge, densely populated, urban jungles. In the future, not only is Zimbabwe modern, but its size, mass and importance is comparable to any colossal place on Earth. The story follows the children of one of the most important people in all of Zimbabwe, General Matsika. Living a sheltered life, the children one day decide to be adventurous and explore the bustling city of Harare. The children are able to convince their parents to let them go, and set out for their journey into the unknown. Unfortunately, they go through a period of time where the get kidnapped, escape to an old village, get kidnapped again, escape, and get kind of kidnapped again. Through her book, the author is comparing this new city-way of life to the ways of old Africa, and how people want to live in the past, because they deny the problems of the present.
The city of Harare is modern, high tech, yet deals with the problems that most cities deal with: crime. A problem for all the citizens, gang activity is ever so prevalent. It's an urban jungle. Some people can deal with it, but others can not. Set a side to keep the ways and traditions of the old Africa, many people created a state that is the complete opposite of Harare. People who live there are completely isolated and kept away from modern society. It's as if one took a time machine 200 years in the past. People live in huts, and there isn't a trace of modern ways anywhere: no medicine, no filtered water, and definitely no modern medical practices. With all of this tradition and almost ancient heritage, there is a negative. While Harare has crime, there is very little disease, plenty of food, water and modern medical practices. When the children find refugee here, there is a bit of a culture shock. At first they are amazed, and too feel that they have taken a time machine, but all of the realizations kick in. While trying to live in the past is nice on the outside, what actually occurs is completely different. While the present is difficult to handle some times, there are many advantages too. When trying to live in the past, not only are you denying the future, but you are also disadvantaged to those discoveries found in the present.
The message of this book is very accessible, because many people including myself have had these thoughts. It's easy for one to say that they would rather live in the past, because deep down they know that living in the present is a struggle. Life isn't supposed to be easy. If it were, we wouldn't appreciate how easy it was. Pain and suffering teaches us how to appreciate what's good and what's bad. We need that scale, because it balances life. I realized that while reading the book, and it influenced me to think differently.
