Red Prophet

What are the motifs in Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card?

Asked by
Last updated by Cat
1 Answers
Log in to answer

Land rights is a recurring idea in the story. Red population believes that their existence on the land is as much a part of it as are the trees, or any other living thing. They live accordingly. While they don't believe in land ownership, they manage to live with reasonable harmony, and discord is settled by fighting which generally leads to one group relocating far enough from the other to avoid problems. All of this is done without harm or consequence to the land. In some ways nomadic, the native population doesn't stay in any place beyond the areas ability to retain them. Rather than take more than they need from the land, they attempt to blend in with it, and become part of the larger picture, believing that to do otherwise is next to losing their identity - which in a sense it is.