Teacher Name: Mr.Ferguson
Course Code: ENG-2D1
Due Date: Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Carrie Mac’s novel The Droughtlanders, is about twin brothers Seth and Eli Maddox. They are Keylanders brought up within the privileged and protected Eastern Key. Keylanders, the boys are told, must keep within their walls to avoid the filth and disease spread by the Droughtlanders-those who struggle to survive on the parched land between the Keys. But when Eli is introduced to an underground rebel group, Triskelia lead by his own mother, his whole world falls apart. To find truth in all lies he has been told, he ventures out into the Droughtlands. Seth, on instinct, prepares to follow Eli and bring him back dead or alive, earning him glory and honour. Throughout the experiences in the Droughtlands, Eli and Seth Maddox change socially, mentally, and physically which leads to new self-recognition.
Eli and Seth discover they both change socially through the course of their time in the Droughtlands. At first, Eli shows his disgust to the Droughlanders when he says to his own mother, “Aren`t you going to explain? Aren`t you going to report that you touched a Droughtlander? I saw you, Maman! You kissed her!” (10) After time in the Droughtlands Eli gets used to the people and realizes how bad they suffer because of them. He helps Nappo’s little brother Teal recover from the skin-eating sick and develops a close relationship with Zari. This proves how Eli’s attitude toward the Droughtlanders changes by the end of the novel. Eli portrays his anger at his mother just for touching a Droughtland woman. He does not even know why his mom is with one but demands a full explanation. When Eli is faced with leaving the Keys to find the rebel group Triskelia, he realizes how wrong his attitude was. Eli’s own lost sister, Sabine, is a Droughtlander. As he spends time in their land he discovers a new and more homely family. Before, Eli thought of them as objects worse than