The Other Side Of The Island Allegra Goodman Character Analysis

“They get to choose where people live and what they buy and wear. They control what people read. They try to control the weather.” In the present society, domination has a significant influence on one’s life, that they may forget their own ability and lifestyle. Throughout the novel, The Other Side of the Island (Allegra Goodman), the citizens living on Island 365 struggle to overcome the domination in their lives. The dominant force on the Island plays a large role on the rights and privileges of everyone living on the island. The Corporation takes advantage of people’s fears to acquire a controlled society, and create rules and regulations that are mandatory for everyone to follow. This authority that Earth Mother possesses affects the

Earth Mother claims to be protecting everyone from natural disasters and she makes sure that everything is perfect on the islands. When Pamela and Will decide to continue to not follow the rules after getting complaints and warnings, Honor feels as though her family does not fit in. To make matters worse the Corporation decided to practically enslave Pamela and Will for not following these rules. They kidnapped Honor’s parents, brainwashed them, and made them into Orderlies. “No one ever knew how parents disappeared. They would go off to work as usual, and they’d never be heard from again. Or you could go to sleep at night, and in the morning your parents’ bed was empty. It would happen without a sound. Who took them? Nobody knew. For what reason? None were ever given. No one talked about it. But of course parents were taken because they did wrong.”(Page

It was mandatory that everyone follow the rules she had created, so that there was absolutely no evidence and information given about the outside world. Earth Mother and her Corporation had everyone living under her control. She had controlled their every aspect of life to the point where everyone forgot what it was like to live in a free environment. “They get to decide how many children families have and what those children will be called and where they go to school and what they think. They get to choose where people live and what they buy and wear.” (Page 62) “She’s got these islands the way she wants them. She’s got everyone living under her control, but she hasn’t got the wild places. She hasn’t even got the other side of this island. She hasn’t got the whole world ceiled yet.” (Page 63) The domination that Earth Mother created has reduced the freedom of the citizens living on Island 365. She had decided how she wanted everyone to live, and expected that everyone would follow all of her commands exactly. Earth Mother’s expectation was different from the reality of how people live, so to punish them she took away all of their