What Kind of Paradise

“The first thing you have to understand is that my father was my entire world. It had been that way since I was four when my mother died, leaving us alone together.”

Jane introduces herself through the framework of family, introducing the theme of The Pressures of Familial Relationships. She wrestles with the nature of her relationship with her father throughout the story, and much of her character arc centers on the way that she comes to terms with the complexity of her father’s identity and how his ideological orientation impacted his parenting choices.

“Every living thing on this planet including humans is a product of nature. Humans may believe they are in charge, but we shouldn’t be.”

This is the first piece of Saul’s complex philosophy that the author provides. Jane describes him as a modern Thoreau, and there is certainly an element of Thoreau’s character in Saul and his views on The Potential Benefits and Harms of Technology. He is anti-technology and, to a large extent, anti-society. He believes that humans are just one small piece of the larger world and that they are no more or less important than any other creature.

“It was impossible to win an argument against my father, though he liked me to try anyway.”

Saul is a complex, multi-faceted character. Jane admits that he has a brilliant mind, but he is also intractable and ego driven at times. He is sure that he is never wrong on any point; if others fail to see his way of thinking, it is because of their deficiencies, not his. Learning to differentiate her own views and values from her father’s will become a key part of