Borne Analysis

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer is a science fiction novel set in an unidentified post-apocalyptic ultramodern city. The novel is told from the first-person narrative from Rachel’s perspective in a sympathetic and nostalgic tone. The central characters are Rachel and Borne, while the antagonists are the Company and Mord. Rachel is the novel's first-person narrator, and her main role is scavenging. In her scavenging activities, she finds Borne and takes him with her. The Company is the antagonist, which creates the major conflict in the novel because its activities destroy the environment making the world unproductive with bizarre creatures like Mord. The primary themes explored by VanderMeer in the novel include climate change, humanity, and the destruction of the environment.

Climate change is a dominant issue from the novel's beginning when the narrator complains that the city's weather is no longer the same because companies emit poisonous gases into the atmosphere, interfering with the natural process of rain formation. Therefore, there is drought throughout the city, and most creatures are dying. While scavenging in the city, Rachel is shocked to find that it is littered everywhere by the biotech company, which is the leading destroyer of the environment. The theme of humanity and compassion is also evident when Rachel finds Borne in the litter and rescues him. She takes Borne home and takes good care of him until he becomes very powerful. Interestingly, when Borne matures, he starts threatening the power in the city and puts the life of Rachel and her sanctuary in danger. Borne is challenging the authority of the manipulative Company that continues to create strange creatures in the city and intentionally destroys the environment.