The two approaches on climate change

The novel tells a story about climate change. It explains different ways to deal with such
environmental problems. This book generally proposes two different approaches to deal
with climate change. One shows Jack, who is optimistic through his compassion for animals.
The other one shows Eve and her friends, who are usually pessimistic. They focus on
surviving and do not enjoy life. The book favours Eve’s approach since it rewards her in the
end, by getting the chance to survive while Jack dies.

Jack and Eve have different mindsets and methods on handling their situation. While Jack
thinks optimistically, Eve is rather pessimistic.
Jack does not let tragic things bring him down. He is hopeful and confident about his future.
He is never worried about his own well-being; he just cares about the animals and the
environment. Even if the situation is getting slightly out of hand, he manages to focus on the
positive, for example when the flood comes and Jack and Shel stay calm in their treehouse,
while everyone was starting to think about all the problems. Eve and her friends are usually
pessimistic. They do not care about their parents, because they believe that they are not
worth being taken care for. Related to the situation of the tree house, at first Eve wanted
Jack to return to the house because she suspected that something bad might happen to
him. She also does not expect to survive, or at least, she does not put her hopes up on a
happy ending, unlike Jack.
In the last scene, the roles change suddenly. Since Jack is sick and knows he will die, he is
rather pessimistic, while Eve acts optimistically. He mindset is still pessimistic, but because
Jack is sad that he will not see all the new animals and plants, Eve acts confident and tells
him that others will. The book does not change Eve’s mindset, but Jack’s. This way, it
remarks that at the end even the optimists will turn hopeless when they are confronted
with death.

In addition to that, the novel shows different qualities of young activist and comments on
them. Jack is rather naïve, probably because he is still a child, whilst Eve thinks rationally.
Jack believes truly that his work will not get destroyed. He believes that all animals would be
saved. Given his optimistic belief that all his goals will be achieved, this situation makes him
very idealistic. Under this circumstance, the book starts to comment negatively on his work,
considering that later there is a picture of dead animals piled up on the street described. Eve
is not as unsophisticated as Jack. Owing to her age, her actions become more reasonable
and of greater meaning. She and her friends achieve a temporary safe state, thanks to their
rational methods. They prepare food rations and create a system to grow vegetables and
mushrooms inside the house. They try to motivate their parents because they know that
they need them now. Even though this attempt fails, the book «rewards» Eve and her
friends. At the end of the book, they live in a somewhat safe place with enough food to get
through the winter.
Jack's naivness and innocence made him believe the occurrence of the Bible and interpret it
as a prophecy. He is too young and inexperienced to have good judgement and distinguish
between real occurrences and a story. Thanks to that, it is easier for him to imagine aspects,
if something does not make sense. Eve does not believe in the Bible and does not pull a
conclusion from it. Being older than Jack, she is more sophisticated than him. This fact
makes her lose some of the children’s creativity. Jack’s interpretations turn the book into an
allegory of the actual Bible, while Eve comments on it. Since the book supports Eve’s
methods, “A Children’s Bible” comments on the actual Bible, by making Eve note and reflect
on Jack’s findings.
There is a certain stereotype in the book, in which way it comments on the opposing sides.
The naïve innocent child stands against the rational cautious teenager.
Since the book is directed mostly to teenagers, it remarks that the teenagers in the real
world should act like the teenagers in “A Children’s Bible”. It wants to show the character’s
success in handling the situation and inspire readers.

The novel distinguishes two outcomes for Jack and Eve, which shows its favoured approach
on climate change. The book ends with Jack getting ill and weak, as a way to illustrate that
naïve work does not pay off. He focused on unnecessary projects like saving some animals
or interpreting the Bible. “A Children’s Bible” comments negatively on that kind of activism.
Jack dies, to show that it is important to focus on the essential projects for the purpose of
sheer survival.
Eve did exactly that. So even though she was concerned about her brother’s health, which
did not make her focus on her own existence, she still got a chance of survival. She was the
one who deserved to survive in this dystopian world, because she focused on the vital topics
and she and her friends had efficient approaches to make survival easier. They aimed to get
the most profit out of their current situation, like growing their own food in the provided
warm and safe space or rationing canned goods. They made long-term projects to ensure
their own future. The book rewards their work by keeping them in a save and alive state in
the end.

In conclusion, this novel shows two different ways to deal with climate change, but only
supports one of them. It distinguishes between Jack, the optimistic but naïve activist, and
Eve, the pessimistic but rational activist. Their mindsets and personalities are very typical for
their age and the given stereotype for that age: an innocent child and a grumpy teenager.
The book’s comment on that is that teenager’s personalities bring better results than too
optimistic people. It favours the teenagers, since Jack’s methods fail, while Eve’s strive.
The book supports Eve’s methods of activism, because it allows her to survive, while Jack
gets “punished” for his unimportant work by getting him ill.