Vanishing Island Analysis Essay

Are you a risk taker? If you're a risk taker you love to take risks all the time because of the feeling you get from it. The author says ¨Risk-takers may need bigger risks to get the same rush, and mundane daily activities can start to seem boring and painful.¨ When people take risks they usually feel a greater feeling of happiness because of the adrienile form taking this risk. In ¨The Psychology of Risk Taking¨ by Zawn Villines, the author talks about all the different chemicals that are active when people take risks, and how that encourages them to take more risks. He explains ¨Major risks release adrenaline, which can lead to a quick rush, and dopamine, which causes intense feelings of pleasure¨ (2). In “Let There Be Light to Save Lions” by Nina Gregory, Richard Turere takes many risks to save his livestock and lion populations. In “The Vanishing Island” by Anya Groner, the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Native American tribe takes the risk of relocating after their island starts to disappear. In the last text “A Time to Dance” by Padma Venkatraman, Veda lost her leg in an accident but still strives to be the best dancer she can be. In all these texts the main characters take many risks to become better people and do the best they can for themselves and their community.

In ¨Let There Be Light to Save Lions” by Nina Gregory, one risk that is taken by Richard Turere, is him taking the time and energy to build this invention, (Lion Lights) not knowing if it would work. He could have put many hours and lots of effort into his invention and it may have still not ended up working. He already had tried other ideas that failed but never gave up trying. Even though many people were not able to come up with a solution for this problem, Turere still worked to come up with a fix to help his community. When he came up with the idea he said ¨One night he was walking around with a flashlight and discovered the lions were scared of a moving light. A light went on inside him and an idea was born¨(1). The outcome of inventing the ¨Lion Lights¨, was that the Lions stopped killing the livestock, and the lions were also not getting killed in retaliation for killing the livestock. So both species were able to live. Turere set up six other ¨Lion Lights¨ for homes in his community. Which proved that his invention was a success.

In the second text ¨The Vanishing Island¨, after the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Native American tribe’s island starts to disappear because of climate change, the tribe was forced to move, find another island and start over. A risk that was taken by the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Native American tribe was finding the bravery and courage to discover somewhere to start a new home and community. Chief Naquin say’s “The longer we wait, the more hurricane seasons we have to go through. We hate to let the island go, but we have to” (1). The outcome of the tribe realizing that they had to move off their island, was that they needed to start over again and begin a new life. The tribe had to create a new village, including houses, crops, tools, etc. They created a new life, on a new island, to make sure that their culture and family survived. The tribe had no idea what would happen, but they took that risk for their community.

In the last text ¨A time to dance¨ by Padma Venkatraman, Veda was an amazing dancer who has won many competitions until she lost her leg in a terrible accident, but Veda soon learns to become an even greater dancer than she was before her accident. One of the manys risks taken by Veda, was when she continued to dance even though she had lost her leg. Veda still strived to achieve her dreams. A quote proving this was when her dance teacher says “There are three kinds of Love, Veda. Most of my students take decades to experience these loves through dance. Yet you are already starting to understand all three” (296). The outcome of this risk was that Veda found out who she truly was. She even  learned to dance with more passion than before her accident. Veda also found the right teacher who believed in her, even though she had lost her leg, and would probably never be able to dance the same again. Veda overcame this obstacle in her life and grew to become an even better dancer than she once was.

In “Let There Be Light to Save Lions” by Nina Gregory, “The Vanishing Island” by Anya Groner, and “A Time to Dance” by Padma Venkatraman, the main characters all take risks to achieve their dreams and goals in life. In all three of these texts the main characters show bravery, perseverance and determination to accomplish what they desire. These characters take a big risk for a big reward, and this step makes all the difference in their lives. Without them taking that risk in their journey they would have never been where they are today.