Devon Island

Devon Island is a central setting in the novel and a motif for the novel because it represents how man cannot stop the progression of nature. Pentaquod considers living on this island when he first sees it because it is so beautiful, but when he sees how much land is lost to erosion each time a storm comes, he decides the island is not sustainable.

The White men who do decide to live on Devon Island do not pay as much attention to the erosion, demonstrating they are not as attentive to the land as the Native Americans. Edmund, who decides the island is the ideal place to live, notices the erosion only at the end of his life and dies before he can do anything about it. Paul also notices the erosion, but is distracted from his need to stop it because his wife is having...