Going to include a natural selection analogy in my literature essay about stubborn character?

Question

Need ideas for analogy. I would like to make a little metaphorical analogy referring to this stubborn character in my book and his inability to adapt with situations in life, which leads to his downfall. I want to compare this with a animal that failed to adapt to its environment. Thanks for any ideas.

Answer 1

The Three Toed Sloth. This animal was said to move at a very slow rate much like humans on Global Warming.

Answer 2

Maybe a good way to do this is to place an animal in an environment in which it is not well-suited.  This is a realistic manifestation of natural selection - all individuals  are very well-suited for some activites and environments, and not well-suited for others.  So, for example, a bird that has a beak that is designed for cracking nuts (like a parrot), would not be able survive in a forest where the main food source was earthworms.

Answer 3

Well, do you have a full understanding of natural selection and adaptation? A single organism does not adapt. Those that have the "stronger" trait have a higher survival rate so when the next generation begins there is a higher ratio of those with the stronger trait to those with the weaker one.

Say you have 10 birds. 5 are green and 5 are yellow. All 5 of the green ones survive to reproduce because they are pretty camouflage and don't get eaten. Only 2 yellow survive to reproduce because they are easily seen and are eaten. So the next generation ends up having twice as many green birds as yellow simply becase there were more green birds to reproduce. Of course this ia a very basic analogy, but that is the jist of it. As time goes on the yellow fizzles out, and the green prevails, although it may end up as a slightly yellow-green....

So I would think that you would want to use more of a "situational" comparison than using natural selection altogether. Maybe rather than natural selection you could mention a bear that chooses not to hibernate and therefore does not survive. You will be comparing stubborness to stubborness, which to me would make more sense than comparing stubborness to a natural progression that the species has no control over.