Theme
The theme in Robert's short story "Do Seek Their Meat from God," is that man and nature are always interconnected, and that they are always in a constant struggle for survival. Humans regard nature as dangerous and unpredictable, because there are too many secrets hidden within the forest. This is especially true at nighttime, for "through the dark of the thick woods," the settler cannot see or hear much of what is hiding. People are naturally afraid of the things they cannot see, so it is not surprising that animals like panthers are regarded as wild, viscous beasts. But animals kill simply to replenish their hunger, or in other words, they seek their meat from God. In this case, the two panthers hear a child's lonely cry in the forest and pursue it in order to survive and feed their young. They are innocent animals in comparison to humans, because people often give no second thoughts about harming animals in order to benefit from them. When two forces are constantly competing, there will always be a winner and a loser. The settler's kind heart enables him to find the courage to stand up to the panthers, and ultimately save the child. For the settler and the child to be able to survive, the panthers must have to die. As a result, this shows that the survival of mankind means the inevitable destruction of nature, in this case it is the whole panther family. The fact is, humans and nature are always going to be in competition, but ultimately mankind has the control over nature's fate.
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