Boy of the Painted Cave

The novel establishes Tao as a person who is profoundly in touch with and respectful of the natural world. While Volt and the other hunters resist much of nature—as seen in their strict limitations as to what grounds are appropriate for hunting and exploration—Tao embraces the natural world for its bounty and beauty. He tells Graybeard, “I only know that the Slough is a place of many good things. Here I find food. I watch the animals and the birds…I feel good here” (66). He also says he does not believe in evil spirits because “[t]he animals, the birds, the trees give us food and clothing. Yet our leaders see only evil” (65). Tao lives in harmony with the natural world, rather than seeing evil or demons in its mysteries.

Several times in the novel Tao pauses to appreciate the majesty and beauty of a large animal. Ram wants to attack, but Tao holds him back, and instead stands still to admire the animal. He hunts to sustain himself, Ram, and Kala, but his interests in the natural world lie more in appreciation and harmony than with dominance. When he begins his training with Graybeard, Tao discovers even more of the ways in which the natural world provides for the people. He learns that the many shades of colors used in the paintings come from a variety of natural sources. The shining stones that Graybeard uses are a special kind of rock. The cures Graybeard gives to sick people come from the herbs and plants around them. What others see as magic, Tao learns, is really the thoughtful and knowledgeable use of the natural world for the benefit of the people.

Ram himself is a symbol of the natural world and Tao’s role in it. Ram is a wild animal, but Tao’s kindness makes him a friend by doing Ram the favor of removing the bone stuck in the wolf dog’s jaw. This is in parallel with how nature can be wild and unpredictable, but with kindness and respect, nature can provide everything one needs to survive. Ram also shows the danger of nature in the many times Tao must pull him back from an impulsive attack. This shows that what nature does is simply instinct and impersonal, a valuable lesson for the whole clan but especially those like Volt, who hold deep grudges against creatures despite those creatures being potential allies, like the alliance between wolf dogs and the Mountain People. Ram also protects Tao just as nature will protect those who know where to look and how to use the things they find (like the cave Tao made his home and the healing herbs Graybeard uses). It is in Tao and Ram’s cooperative relationship that the lesson of cooperation and mutual respect between humans and nature will produce the most abundant rewards can be learned.

Tao’s confrontation with Saxon further shows the importance of working with the natural world rather than against it. Instead of attacking Saxon as a hunter might, with weapons and force, Tao uses the rhythms of Saxon’s attacks to evade him. He then uses the shining stones to confuse and frustrate the bull. A confrontation that was intended to leave one of them dead instead ends with both alive. Tao uses what Volt calls “magic” to win the fight; Tao does not correct Volt, but privately acknowledges it was the natural properties of the stones that allowed him to drive the bull away. Tao has learned to be creative with the world around him.