41 pages • 1 hour read
Jewell Parker RhodesParadise on Fire
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Personal Growth and Self-Discovery
One of the most important themes in the novel centers on Addy’s personal growth and self-discovery. At the novel’s opening, Addy is haunted by the loss of her parents in a fire, which has left her with a paralyzing fear of fires and being trapped. Since she is an orphan, she assumes that other people view her as different and avoid her. Over the course of her character arc, she learns to grow in confidence and self-esteem, forging meaningful connections with others along the way.
Nature becomes an important catalyst that enables Addy to learn skills like hiking, climbing, and caring for the natural world, all of which build her sense of self. The wilderness is inherently challenging, but when Addy overcomes the challenges, it empowers her: “Twenty miles. My mind starts mapping the distance. Today it took almost four hours. How long for twenty? Longer than a day. I think I can do it. No, I want to do it. I can do it. Hike twenty miles. Maybe more” (60). Addy finds the wilderness tasks exciting and wants to push herself further. This growing sense of agency, self-reliance, and competence helps her both physically and emotionally. The longer she spends in the wilderness, the more at peace she feels, which in turn opens up the possibility of confronting her traumatic past so that she can overcome her fears once and for all.
While Addy is growing physically and mentally, she is also growing socially. While initially suspicious of Jay, Nessa, and the others, Addy begins to open up and view herself as part of a “crew” instead of permanently alone. This moment is cemented during the wildfire when Addy realizes, “No matter what happens, Jay, DeShon, and Nessa are unforgettable. Wilderness Adventures will always mean belonging to a crew, a team. Survival is more than just me” (205). While she has always viewed her survival as dependent on herself alone, Addy gradually learns to rely on others for mutual support. While Addy leads the others during the wildfire, Jay helps her when she is burned, and DeShon has the idea to build a raft, ensuring that they all survive.
In the novel’s Epilogue, it is clear that Addy has maintained her friendships: She is back at the camp with Jay and still in touch with DeShon and Nessa. She also now knows that she wishes to become an environmentalist in her career. Through these experiences, Addy’s biggest personal growth is realizing how interconnected both nature and people are and how those connections make everything stronger and more beautiful.
Survival and Resilience
From the beginning of the novel, the characters experience physical trials in learning how to navigate the natural world after having lived in cities their entire lives. The natural environment demands strength and perseverance, both of which are crucial to survival. Through her experiences at the camp, Addy learns to develop her talents for survival and resilience.
Initially, Addy and the other kids find Paradise Ranch intimidating and strange. However, as the camp counselors and Leo teach them essential survival skills and show them the beauty of nature, they begin to feel more comfortable and capable. The skills they learn give them a sense of strength and self-reliance. Addy’s survival skills are tested when a wildfire breaks out near the camp and she must lead her friends to safety. The kids demonstrate what they have learned by handling their tools with confidence: They use ropes to measure the depth of a river, use their rock-climbing skills to descend safely to a ledge, and apply first aid to their injuries. When the others wish to wait to be found, Addy remains vigilant, insisting, “[A]ll I know is: To survive, you don’t wait to be found” (183). Addy also develops her emotional resilience in her quest for survival: Despite the trauma she has experienced around fire, she is able to master her fear to ensure that she and her friends escape.
While going for help alone, it is only Addy’s thoughts of her friends that keep her going. While she is strong and resilient on her own, she is much stronger and can survive more easily with her community. While Addy focuses only on her own survival early in the novel, her connections with others change her and shift her desire toward ensuring that everyone survives. When Addy is finally found by firefighters, her focus is on her friends. She anxiously shows the firefighters where her friends are on the map: “My finger pokes, presses the spot. The treasure is here. My friends. Here. Relieved, I cry. Escape. Survive. Not one, but us” (234).
Nature, like the characters, also demonstrates the power of survival and resilience. Despite the destruction the wildfire brings, there are already signs that the wilderness is regrowing the following year. Leo emphasizes that it will take hundreds of years, but nature will heal, and so will Addy and her friends. In returning to the camp, Addy shows her commitment to developing her survival skills even further.
The Importance of Nature
In Paradise on Fire, the importance of nature is a central theme, with nature serving as a place of transformation and healing for the characters. When Addy first arrives at the camp, she does not know anything about the wilderness since she lives in a city. By the novel’s end, she has developed a deep knowledge and a profound appreciation for the healing that nature can provide.
As Addy spends more time in nature, she develops her respect and appreciation for it. In many ways, it allows her to be more herself than anywhere she has ever been, with Leo telling her that she has found “home.” The summer spent learning survival skills allows Addy to develop a sense of her own agency and strength while also providing her with a sanctuary where she can contemplate her past trauma and find healing. While at Paradise Ranch, she often dreams of the night her parents died: Unlike the many times she’s dreamed of it at previous points in her life, she is now able to push further into the memory. Since she is finally able to remember the night entirely, she can find peace and healing.
The novel emphasizes the cyclical nature of the wilderness, illustrating the ways that both people and nature can persevere through times of adversity. In this way, the setting reflects her journey. While she might have felt trapped in the grief of her early loss, she is able to make meaning from it and transform into a better version of herself. She demonstrates this transformation by leading her friends out of the wildfire, using all the skills she learned and her own tenacity to push beyond what she thought was possible. Her time at Paradise Ranch also shows her how to harness her skills to help the wider world. She thinks, “Worrying about the planet is scary. Maps make me feel in control. Like seeing might save me…help save the Earth” (81). Nature gives Addy a new sense of purpose: At the end of the book, Addy is determined to become an environmentalist to help educate others and save the planet.
Nature also fosters the deepening connection between the teens. On one of the early hikes, there is a moment when everyone experiences the almost otherworldly power of nature: “I understand. Us six kids and Jamie and Dylan all fit comfortably inside the circle. Everyone’s face is upraised toward the sun. Even DeShon is awestruck” (57). This sense of shared awe over the beauty of nature shows how important nature is for connecting people. Throughout the novel, nature’s importance is reflected through both characters’ interactions with each other and their inner growth.
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By Jewell Parker Rhodes
