Artemis Fowl

The environment and environmentalist concerns are a frequent motif of the novel. The threat to the environment serves as a symbol of destruction at the hands of humans, one to which fairies are especially attuned. This is because “[f]rom the earth thine power flows, Given through courtesy, so thanks are owed. Pluck thou the magick seed […] And bury it far from where it was found, So return your gift into the ground” (64). There is a deep ancestral connection between the People and the planet. Additionally, those LEP officers sent up to the surface often take advantage of opportunities to fly through the fresh air, given that they are cooped up underground and are continuously pushed deeper and deeper by humans’ drilling. This contributes to the resentment fairies feel for humans.

When Holly flies to complete the ritual, she sees dolphins whose skin has been ruined by pollution. Even Commander Root, whose brusque exterior prevents him from showing empathy for much, notices that the whaler on which Artemis hides Holly’s locator is “a floating eco hazard” (106). These and other concerns for the environment and its natural creatures throughout the text contribute to the theme of Destruction Resulting from Human Greed and allows the author to make an argument for ecologically conscious action.

Artemis himself does “not like whalers. There were less objectionable ways to produce oil by-products” (113). The fairies would likely be surprised that Artemis has such a stance on the matter, as it is a direct contrast to the image of humans they have when it comes to the environment and the treatment of nature and its creatures. It is also not an entirely novel position; Artemis still seems in favor of oil, generally, and his emotional manipulation of Holly is something that he knows is “undeniably cruel” but, nonetheless, is something he is willing to do, suggesting that perhaps he is not so different from whalers. By the end of the novel, He does, however, wrestle with his own actions, and shows change in this area: Near the end of the story, he does not force Holly to cure his mother, which he could, given the rules of the Book concerning guests and their hosts. Rather, he barters for his wish, finding a “less objectionable” way.