The Canyon's Edge

The Canyon’s Edge is a classic example of wilderness survival fiction. The theme of braving and overcoming natural obstacles is integral to the novel. The external conflict that Nora faces, surviving and escaping the harsh desert environment with Dad, frames her other, internal conflicts. Nora shows that she has physical and mental strength, courage, knowledge, and adaptability to persevere and triumph in deadly conditions.

Thanks to her adventurous, desert-loving parents, Nora has a strong set of outdoor skills. Dad told her at age six, “You never know what you might face / in the desert… / You have to be prepared for / everything” (201). Her parents took her hiking in the Grand Canyon when she was an infant. Nora learned rock climbing at age six in Dad’s gym. Together, they have visited stunning natural wonders and important Native American cultural sites in Arizona like Antelope Canyon, Montezuma Castle, and Canyon de Chelly. Nora knows that her parents wanted to share and impart their love of the southwest by showing and teaching her “everything they knew / about the desert” (141).

Nora does treasure the desert: its people, history, flora, and fauna. She appreciates the lessons learned from Native American peoples, like the weaving of the Tohono O’odham. During her canyon survival experience, despite being in an agony of pain, thirst, and worry, Nora is nevertheless “wonderstruck” to see the fox. She uses nature imagery to describe her own feelings: Her “Before” and “After” are delineated as clearly as a ring in a tree that indicates a drought.

While Nora truly loves the desert, she also respects that it’s one of nature’s harshest environments and recognizes its potential dangers. She writes, “Everything in the desert has thorns. / Everything in the desert hurts you” (222). In “Forgive,” Nora compares the desert to an unforgiving judge and a “muscular bully,” both of whom are quick to punish visitors who make mistakes—as she does. Fortunately, Nora has the knowledge, adaptability, courage, and fortitude to survive.

Left without any supplies except the clothes she wears, Nora shows her resourcefulness in surviving in inhospitable conditions. She realizes that she can live for only three days without water: Time is critical. She uses several of the most important basic survival skills: finding shelter, sourcing food and water, and signaling for help. This outdoors knowledge, coupled with her extensive knowledge of desert life and terrain, help her make important survival decisions. As she searches for Dad, she prioritizes finding water, sourcing it from puddles and digging and straining mud through her tank top. She finds food because she understands that desert creatures store food in their shelters, and thanks to her knowledge of desert plants, she recognizes what’s edible and what’s toxic. Nora finds shelter to protect herself against the cold night winds and rubs mud on her face to protect her skin from the sun. Her knowledge of and preparedness for desert dangers help her survive.

Nora’s adaptability to changing situations is another important factor in her survival. She pivots when she hears thunder on the second night and strives to find an elevated shelter. She entertains different possible options for getting help—such as returning to the Jeep or hiking out to find assistance—but decides to keep searching for Dad. Faced with the loss of the rope, Nora changes plans and climbs to the top of the canyon. Her ability to plan and react to events and bounce back from setbacks shows her resilience, a key survival—and life—skill.

Physically, Nora shows amazing bravery and endurance. She endures innumerable injuries but refuses to succumb to her pain—or give up. Nora is legitimately proud of her courage in overcoming her fears and triumphing over potentially deadly encounters and activities, like toughing out the scorpion venom and free-soloing the 40-foot canyon wall. Her physical strength is sustained by her mental fortitude. Her self-talk becomes positive, reflecting her new belief in herself. She writes, “I fell yesterday. / I won’t fall today” (197). Her striking out the first line shows Nora’s fierce determination.

Although she struggles with self-confidence, fears of dying, and PTSD symptoms, Nora overcomes all these mental obstacles and continues moving forward—physically toward Dad and emotionally toward healing. Nora is a survivor in part because of her love for Dad: Her drive to find and rescue him keeps her going. She’s also a survivor because she chooses to survive: Nora wants to live. When she flags down the helicopter, she shows this tenacity and new commitment to life, saying, “I’m still here. / I’m still alive. / I’m still fighting” (294). Nora’s desire to have a future is an important psychological aspect of her success—and an important complementary theme of the novel.