In the contemporary novel When the Killing's Done, author TC Boyle tells the powerfully relevant story of Alma Boyd Takesue, her antagonist Dave Lajoy, and their attempts to exercise dominion over the natural world. Set in the Channel Islands off the coast of California, the novel reveals timely themes regarding Earth's life cycle and how humanity has altered it, for better or worse. Throughout the plot, Alma strives to preserve the island's native ecosystem, while Dave seeks to protect invasive species, but it is nature's response to these actions that exposes Boyle's honest thoughts on the prevailing issues currently occurring at an environmental and social level. While plants and animals may not necessarily control humanity, When the Killing's Done reiterates the idea that every aspect of Earth should work in unison, so when humans disrupt it, the universe responds. As demonstrated by the symbolic climate and the many characters who experience extreme trauma at sea, humans have no dominion over the environment, thus illuminating TC Boyle's theme that the natural order of the world cannot be challenged and humans' attempts to altering it will simply result in self-sabotage. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Boyle's use of time is constantly used throughout the novel to prove that Alma's argument is the correct one, even when it seems immoral, while Dave's surface level plan to protect the introduced animals on the island by humans, will further destroy the ecosystem. When Alma returns to the island after successfully restoring the native species, the weather is clearly favorable to her, as Boyle notes: “She has never seen the channel so smooth. There is not a breath coming out of Ventura Harbor and at ten in the morning it is as hot as at noon” (359). The weather changes often in the book - in one chapter the sun is shining and in the next a storm breaks out - and it usually has to do with which character the plot is focused on at the time. Boyle uses time to subtly indicate that Alma is right and Dave is wrong, which is why nature is setting Alma and her crew up for success. Dave on the other hand constantly complains about the bad weather, as Boyle writes, "Vitamin K melted in the rain and was absolutely incapable of doing anything" (118). It's almost as if the universe is doing everything it can to prevent Dave from triumphing, from making the waves choppy so he can't surf, to destroying the vitamin K tablets he's giving to the mice. The rain present when Dave is working to achieve his goals represents the control that nature has over man. Dave thinks he can regulate the animals on the island, but the environment works in unexpected ways and is capable of drastically benefiting or harming humans. Beverly's experience when she was lost at sea, along with the numerous deaths that have occurred in the ocean, demonstrate that while what surrounds people can save them in miraculous ways, it can also easily destroy them. When the story of Beverly and her accident at sea is told, Boyle writes: “The universe stopped swinging. The sea receded. And he found himself on a path that climbed steeply up to the point where the fog began to lift and thin until it was no more” (30). This entire passage personifies Beverly's environment as he satisfies her situation and ends up saving her life. The ladder “seemed to her to slide on the surface” (30), suddenly there was “a wooden barrel, a barrel, placed there to.