What Does It Mean to Truly Belong?
Exploring the book series The Wild Robot
Last year, I started reading The Wild Robot book series with my child. The first book was just adapted and released as a movie. We are about a third of the way through the second book, The Wild Robot Escapes. I am in love with Peter Brown’s writing style. It’s calm, warm, and simple yet deeply evocative, with layers of depth in its themes and descriptions.
Without giving away too much, the story follows Roz, a robot who finds herself stranded on a wild island. She goes from being an outsider in a strange, natural world to becoming an integral part of it, nurturing the creatures around her like family.
The book is fascinating because it doesn’t just focus on survival. It’s about belonging -about Roz discovering who she is beyond her original purpose as a machine.
Technology and Nature: Enemies or Friends?
One of the most interesting themes in The Wild Robot is the relationship between technology and nature. People believe technology always disrupts and harms the environment, but Roz’s journey challenges that idea. She learns from nature, adapts to it, and even contributes to the balance of the ecosystem.
It makes you think: Are we humans so dependent on technology, disconnected from the natural world, or can we find a way to coexist with it and nurture it like Roz does?
Empathy in a Competitive World
What also struck me is how The Wild Robot emphasizes cooperation, empathy, and community instead of raw competition. Roz helps her fellow creatures not because she has to but because she cares. And with this found her community - somewhere she belonged.
This got me thinking: What does it mean to truly belong? Is it something we’re born into or something we choose to create by helping those around us?
I’d love to hear your thoughts—do you think belonging comes naturally, or do we create it by the way we interact with the world?
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Maria
Land Acknowledgement
I acknowledge that the land on which I live is the ancestral home of the Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, and Menominee peoples. These Indigenous communities cared for this land long before the arrival of European settlers and continue to contribute to its cultural and ecological richness today. I invite us to honor the enduring presence and sovereignty of Native peoples and commit to learning from and supporting their voices and leadership.
Neat little piece.
It's unfortunate that we're taught to collaborate and care, but the workplace and education warp these qualities into competition and the dishonesty that can come with that
It's possible that Roz was not programmed with the achievement of results at all costs, so he comes into this habitat with curiosity and a desire to understand and integrate himself.
Sounds like good reading for children.