What Is The Theme Of The Birds By Nat Hocken

Farm life is considered this calm and relaxing lifestyle where you can disconnect from the chaos the city brings into your life. Many seek this life in order to live in peace, away from others. It also provides them with the time to connect with their family and the animals they live among. However, in the short story, “The Birds” published in 1952 by Daphne du Maurier, a small-time farmer's life is flipped upside down by a catastrophic supernatural event. Following around the character Nat Hocken, a disabled wartime veteran turned farmer, and his family of 2 younger kids and wife. We see them deal with the apocalyptic world conditions. Living in the countryside of England, the Hocken family is going on with their day like no other until a

When first introduced to him we learn about his military past and his family. He has a wife, a school aged daughter and a baby son. From his time in the military of his country he picked up the ideal to protect and serve, which he carried with him into his civilian life. When the savage birds choose to attack, we discover that Nat’s love for his family motivates him to keep them safe and tend to their needs. We can see Nat’s deep affection he feels for his wife when, “Nat heard his wife’s voice, soothing, comforting” (du Maurier 3). Nat describes her voice as soothing and comforting as he values the emotional support he gains from her presence. Nat is constantly protecting his family throughout the story. The first instance is when he heard his children crying for help in the night. He instantly rushes to the needs of his children and finds the birds attacking them during the first night. Worried about the safety of his children, Nat fights off and kills fifty birds in their bedroom, only to feel sickened at the sight moments after. He then spends all day boarding up the house to prevent any more attacks on his family. Nat even goes to the extent to risk his life by leaving the fortified cabin and leaving himself exposed for the birds to attack him in order to retrieve

The birds themselves represent mother nature. They symbolize all of nature, not just the animals. They help push along the idea that mother nature is superior to everything else. How in the blink of an eye mother nature can take control of what used to be hers. In this story savage birds are used to represent this, but in reality it could be anything. Like earthquakes and other natural disasters. The birds tell us how humans are subservient to the world around them. The author uses the birds as a warning to the disrespect humans show mother nature. In the story before the 2nd attack of the birds we see Mr. Trigg and he stops to speak to Nat asking, “Why don't you stop behind and join the shooting match? We’ll make feathers fly” (du Maurier 8). Mr. Trigg does not believe that the birds are any real threat. He thinks the whole situation is a joke. In fact, Mr. Trigg wants to make the most out of it for his own entertainment. The story then makes a lesson out of the Triggs. We later visit their farm in search of supplies and find both the wife and husband dead and ripped apart by the birds. Serving as a reminder that humans are at will to the force of