Nature vs. Self

Omishto often mentions and describes the natural world throughout the novel Power. One passage that stands out to me is on pages 38 and 39. After the hurricane and after Omishto returns to Ama's house, she observes all that is around her. There are birds flying around, goats, a chicken, and a dead horse. Omishto describes the horse's exact position and what it looks like, laying in the mud. She tells the reader what she thinks the animals are thinking. Then she mentions, "I look down and see myself and I am naked" (39). She does not even realize this until she has first taken in her surroundings of the natural world.

Omishto seems to have a very close relationship with the animals and the natural world around her. She describes natural objects in depth. Omishto says the animals "walk about, unafraid of us" (38). Because Omishto does not realize that her dress has come off, she reveals her concern for the animals before herself. Later on in the novel, she comes back to Ama's house to bury the dead horse and any other animals she can, which reveals her caring nature for animals.