Theme and message

Humanity’s relationship with nature

One of the themes in Morris Lurie’s “The Larder” is humanity’s relationship with nature. The theme is explored through the tourists’ attitudes and actions towards the shells and the creatures inside, as well as through the guide’s and the resort’s attitude towards the tourists. The tourists are on vacation near the Great Barrier Reef, which initially suggests that they are interested in nature. However, they lack interest in the creatures inside the shells. These details suggest that the tourists are not necessarily interested in nature, but rather want to vacation in an exotic place. They also want a souvenir, and possibly to show others that they have been to the reef.  Some of the tourists seem to briefly show some regret at bringing so many shells back from their trip (p. 92, ll. 18-19), but they quickly carry on with taking the creatures out of their shells, suggesting that they do not want to think about the fact that they might have made...