Through the Destiny of the Rain Forest

There’s a philosophical theory Causal Determinism which argues that every action that ever occurs is part of a long, unbroken chain of events that dates back to the dawn of time.  Every action and event which takes place causes another action or event to occur, creating a self-sustaining sequence with no beginning or end.  In this way, the theory claims every action that occurs is in fact destined to occur, since it is all part of the same inescapable chain of events.

One action always seems to lead to another

I bring all this up to frame and highlight the strong sense of destiny that permeates Through the Arc of the Rain Forest.  At times, it seems almost certain that the characters are not in control of their own fate; that they are instead being guided by some overarching sense of destiny.  Kazumasa’s Nigh-Omniscient Ball even says as much as early as page 15: “Kazumasa at the time had no idea how this simple pastime…might affect his own future.  These things I knew through simple clairvoyance…strange events far to our north…events as insignificant as those in tiny northeastern coastal town…and events as prestigious as those of the great economic capital of the world, New York, would each cast forth and invisible line, shall I say, leading us to a place they would all call the Matacao.”

All throughout the book, however, there are clear signs of destiny pulling the characters one way or the other.  Batista’s prophetic pigeon messages are a chief example: he claims to never know how he comes up with them, only that they suddenly flow from his pen almost without his consent.  And yet he predicts Kazumasa’s great fortunes, the death of Brazil’s birds and even the return of his wife.  Meanwhile, Chico Paco envisions Rubens long before Lourdes asks for his assistance.   Chico Paco takes this to be a sign from God himself, and really, who is anyone to argue that it’s not?

And then there are the countless smaller events in the novel that seem too amazing to pass off as coincidence.  That Kazumasa, the only person on Earth who could possibly discover new sources of Matacao, would end up the primary shareholder of the corporation that utilizes it.  That Gilberto would miraculously be cured, which in turn would cause his friend to make the pilgrimage that would give him international fame.  All this seems to fit too perfectly together for it to e simple coincidence.

Casual Determinism claims that we lack any free will; that we’re locked into our course by a never-ending chain of actions and reactions that have been destined since the dawn of time.  Whether or not this applies to our world is a matter of debate, but it’s not hard to imagine such a theory holding weight in the magic-realist world of Through the Arc of the Rain Forest.