Meaning Of Life In W. O. Mitchell's Who Has Seen The Wind

In the story of "Who Has Seen The Wind", W.O. Mitchell attempts to explain the meaning of life to young readers. Brian O'Connal, the main character, is a young boy who develops an understanding of birth and death throughout the novel by observing numerous animals. The birth of Forbsie's pigeons and his rabbits help him to gain an understanding of birth. The death of Forbsie's pigeon, Brian's dog, and Brian's father play an important role in helping Brian understand birth, death and the true meaning of life. Brian's first encounter with birth is when he and
Brian has difficulty grasping this fact and asks his father for help. Brian's father unwillingly provides information on this matter which results in a brief but not detailed discussion. From this discussion Brian concludes that the father pigeon places the baby in the egg and the baby pigeons grow while the mother pigeon is laying the egg. When the baby pigeon grows as much as it needs to grow, it hatches out of the egg. This explanation leaves Brian quite confused and uninformed of nature's way to reproduce. At this stage Brian seems to understand that humans and animals reproduce babies the same way. Brian's second encounter with birth is again with Forbsie as the two watch the birth of rabbits. Brian's knowledge of birth is further developed in this section of the novel. He is not too sure about the newborn rabbits at first because they look funny with no hair and there are no