The Wild Robot Escapes

“You might remember her old life on a remote, wild island.”

As the truck drops Roz into her new life at Hilltop Farm, the narrator reminds the reader of Roz’s old life by referencing the first novel in the series, The Wild Robot. After the cargo ship wrecks and Roz is marooned on the island, she must learn to adapt to her wild surroundings, and in the process, she comes to love the island and its creatures.

“‘I think the monster is harmless.’ ‘I think the monster is unnatural.’ I think the monster is moving!’”

The cows echo a motif in the previous novel when many of the island animals called Roz a monster. Roz’s intimidating size and appearance lead the cows to think she is dangerous, but once they meet her and learn of her kindness and helpfulness, they become her friends. The author uses this moment to emphasize the danger of judging someone by their appearance. Just because someone looks different does not mean they are dangerous.

“Now that he had a robot to do all the farmwork, he hardly ever left the house.”

Illustrating the dangers of automation and artificial intelligence, the author shows how humans can become detached from the natural world when machines do the bulk of the work. Mr. Shareef’s injury prevents him from doing the heavy manual labor on the farm, but he has lost touch with the joy of being outside on his land because he relies on robotic labor.