Na Viro Final Third Paper

 Fisk Candau 

Dr Ellis  

EN376  

18 Sep 2023     Something I was very interested in reading the last third of Na Viro especially was the ethics of Pawta’s existence and function within the story.

    Throughout the book, Pawta is presented as a sentient being capable of thought and communication and emotion. But, in my mind at least, this presentation either contrasts or is exceedingly problematic in the light of Pawta having access codes and ways to override her wants and desires instead of having free will.

    While this is not necessarily a problem when it comes to the Thraens’ partnership with that species of creature, since the two species grow up together and are socialised one in light of the other in order for there to be an immense amount of respect between the two, this is not the case when humans from Earth board and commandeer Pawta and use her as a vessel and object rather than an actual living, breathing being.  

    With this characterisation of Pawta, I feel like Cole is once again trying to push the argument that humanity needs to be more humane towards nature and in touch with the animals and world around them. This is argument is present in the distinctly sentient and brutal way that Pawta is treated throughout the book. Even though she can communicate with Thraens and really anyone who boards her, she is controlled rather than worked with when Dani and the Academy soldiers commandeer her and she is used as cannon fodder, where she is constantly caught in the cross line during the fights between Dani’ and Tia’s groups and used as a shield rather than seen as another being that needs to be protected by the violence of Dani’s group.  

    Cole argues that creatures like Pawta, which share a striking resemblance to the way that animals on Earth are used and tortured by humans so that they can further their aims, should not be used as objects but rather respected in the way that the Thraens interact with them. This argument is only further pushed when Sotrakkar is completely baffled by the fact that people on Earth used to eat meat from animals, since Thraens live so completely in harmony with the environment and creatures around them that they would never think to use them for their own personal gain.  

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