The Impact of Environment on Individuals in “Ducks”

As made clear by both the title and subtitle, “Ducks” foregrounds the relationship between the environment one occupies and the life one lives, showcasing the chain of consequence that flows from environments to cultures to individual existence. #ducks 1/10

The transformative potential of the environment on one’s beliefs, values, and even physical body that we see depicted throughout “Ducks” is quite total and made apparent by juxtaposing Katie’s life in the sands with life in Cape Breton or British Columbia. 2/10

In the dark, cold isolation of the sands, any number of abhorrent behaviors become validated and even justified. The extreme of this is, of course, the perpetuation of the rape culture that Beaton depicts amongst her coworkers and the various ways it impacts her well-being. 3/10

Nor is Katie immune to the impacts of the toxic environment herself. Over the course of the novel, she demonstrates several behaviours that are portrayed as out-of-character and reflective of her exposure to an environment that was oppressive. 4/10

Thus, said environment becomes a macro-antagonist throughout the story, perhaps most notably midway through the book when Katie finds her dream job but it doesn’t pay the bills and she – quite tragically – has to return to the oil sands. 5/10

All of this combines to lead to existential questions about how the spaces we occupy impact and define who we are as individuals and the subsequent necessity of creating spaces that optimize human interactions and living. 6/10

An interesting comparison here might be to Oscar Newman’s theory of ‘defensible space,’ which revolutionized the field of environmental design by positing that behaviors can be deeply impacted by the construction of physical spaces that facilitate communal investment. 7/10

Paralleling all of this is the narrator’s awakening consciousness of the environmental damage that the oil sands project is creating, thus casting further pall on her time spent within said environment as she is, herself, perpetuating toxic environments by poisoning the land 8/10

This aspect is particularly well-presented through the visual medium, with Beaton skillfully juxtaposing claustrophobic artificial spaces with stunning vistas of natural beauty. 9/10

All of this culminates in the title of the graphic novel, which symbolizes the narrator herself, who, like the titular Ducks, finds herself pushed by the need for self-sustenance to land in an environment that hurts her and, ultimately, sticks to her. 10/10