Summary and Theme of Not Nothing
Theme of the Essay Not Nothing
Not Nothing is an essay by Stephen Cave about the essayist’s thinking over a fly. Once, he was irritated by a fly. As a result, he killed it without to thinking about its life. After killing it, he compares life of the fly with his own.
At last, he gives a conclusion that death of all creatures are equal to God. So, we should respect the lives of all creatures. The essay gives the message of non- violence to us. If we start killing species like fly without realizing it’s importance, we may loose the species from the earth.
Summary of the Essay Not Nothing
Once, he was irritated by a fly. He tried to avoid it but it irritated him again and again. At last, He kills the fly unknowingly. After killing it, the essayist starts thinking over the fly. After killing it, he realises his mistake. He finds the same kind of life of the fly as his own.
After thinking about the fly, he brings his own story. Once, he took his children to a pond in a park. They saw eggs of frogs. Eggs were going to change into tadpoles next day. He realised that the tadpoles were decreasing day by day. He tells the message that life cycle of frog is also an important part of evolution. He tells that other species played an important role for the evolution of human beings.
The essayist imagines himself as a fly. He feels being killed by human. He understands the value of his life after placing himself in at that position.
The essayist also talks about vegan and vegetarian. People are becoming vegetarian to become healthy. His friend became vegan to avoid death of species.
He says that we shouldn’t kill species for scaring us. It is not a good reason. We should respect the lives of all creatures. We should allow all creatures to die naturally.
He remembered the incident when his father was spraying ants. After seeing it, he also sprayed on ant’s nest but his father stopped him. He failed to understand his father’s intention. He guesses that his father wanted to save the extinction of ants.
