Fool's Paradise Analysis

Wright’s “Fool’s Paradise” talks about his opinion on what happened to the people of Rapa Nui. Wright believed that the people of Rapa Nui were one of the civilizations that didn’t fall by conquest or anything uncontrollable, of their own doings. Wearing out their welcome the inhabitants of the Island first came during the fifth century. Bringing the usual crops and animals of sugar cane, bananas, and sweet potatoes, and the animals they brought ranged from dogs, rats, and chickens. However, Wright’s “Fool’s Paradise discusses how he believes the people of Rapa Nui destroyed their environment in the same way we destroy ours in the pursuit we call “progress”. Wright believes that in today's world we are close to following the same path. The people of Rapa Nui left their native lands of Polynesia for an unknown reason, but their journey of traveling vast open seas leads to what is popularly known as the Easter Island of today. Easter Island, located about 23,000 miles from South America and adult 1,100 miles the nearest island.

The palm trees they depended on began to decrease, as the trees disappeared wars broke and people starved. The use of these trees was cut down for farming purposes, but also to burn for fire and help transport the statues. Over time the people of Easter Island had what some might say “wore out their welcome” as there was no more trees and having eaten all the dogs and nesting birds the people of Rapa Nui realized the decision knowing that they had cut down their last tree was it. Wright uses this catastrophic incident as a lesson to learn. He believes that today we as a society are slowing following in the footsteps of the people of Rapa Nui. Today as a society we are slowly following in the steps of the people of Easter Island. The events of Easter Island are events that we have to watch out for to avoid repeating