The Trap Compare And Contrast

The novels Downriver and The Trap both develop the same theme in different ways. Downriver by Will Hobbs is set in Colorado while The Trap by John Smelcer is set in Alaska. Both novels take place during the same time period but the different locations cause for different ways of living. In Colorado there are many rivers that people use to go white water rafting, but in Alaska there is an abundance of snow. In Downriver a group of teenage trouble makers join a program called Discovery Unlimited and are sent to Southern Colorado to learn how to live off the land. Johnny Least-Weasel, the main character of The Trap, lives in a small village in the snowy hills of Alaska and has learned skills on how to survive his whole life from his elders. Each novel develops the same theme that the knowledge of survival protects from dangers of living off the land. …show more content…
A story is told about Johnny’s encounter with a bear when he was younger. “Johnny Least-Weasel knew all these things. He had spent his young life learning the unwritten rules of this untamed land from his uncle and grandfather, and he knew what danger he was in” (Smelcer 141). Johnny knew the tendencies of bears and how dangerous they can be in certain situations. Since he had been taught at a young age about the land and the animals in it, Johnny knew exactly how to come out of the dangerous situation alive. Jessie comes from a different background and is just learning how to survive in the Grand Canyon and other parts of Colorado. Even though they come from different areas and backgrounds, the characters of both novels experience the importance of survival