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Chapter 1

Introduction

Eco-literature or environmental literature is essentially concerned with

environmental issues and themes which explore human’s relationship with the natural

environment. In an age of environmental crisis, human’s anthropocentric behaviour

towards nonhuman nature causes irreversible damages which result in disharmony in

the entire ecosphere and ecosystem of the earth. Environmental challenges such as

environmental degradation, pollution, toxic waste, global warming, climate change,

loss of biodiversity, and natural resources, massive species extinction etc. are cross-

cultural and prevalent all over the world. In this global scenario of the environmental

degradation, the subject of environmental problems acquires a viable position in the

academic world to discuss the growing ecological crisis and the complication of the

human-nonhuman relationship. Human’s destructive and exploitative attitude towards

nonhuman nature results in the depletion of natural resources and produces an adverse

effect on the relationship between human and nonhuman. Industrialization,

urbanization and modernization of society aim for human benefit, but it also reflect

human’s anthropocentric attitude towards nonhuman nature. Due to this, the essence

of quality of living has been replaced by overconsumption, environmental pollution

and commercialism etc. Ultimately, all this affect every living, non-living organism

and the entire ecosystem of the earth.

Ecocriticism as a literary critical movement takes environment as a serious

subject to discuss the representation of nature in literature. According to Timothy

Clark,
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Environmental issues pose new questions to inherited modes of thought and

argument. To try to conceptualise and engage the multiple factors behind the

accelerating degradation of the planet is to reach for tools that must be remade

even in the process of use. Ecocriticism is one site of this crucial intellectual

transformation. (xiii)

In the literary field, the framework of eco-literature which is a fruitful combination of

the subject of the science of ecology and literature explores the relationship between

human and nonhuman nature and how human’s attitude towards nonhuman nature is

articulated in literary texts. Ecocritics mainly focus on the representation of nature,

author’s ecological perspective and analyze the environmental messages embedded in

the texts.

This thesis titled “Green Politics and Environmental Consciousness: An

Ecocritical Study of Select American Women Fiction” attempts to analyze select

American fiction of four contemporary American women writers from an ecocritical

perspective in order to see how these women writers engage themselves with various

current environmental problems in their literary texts. Their works represent the

relationship between human and non-human nature in literature. The purpose of this

thesis is to explore three major radical environmental theoretical concepts such as

deep ecology, social ecology and ecofeminism to analyze the environmental problems

presented in the texts: American writer Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer

(2000) and Flight Behaviour (2012), Ruth Ozeki’s novels My Year of Meats (1998)

and All Over Creation (2003), Native American writers Linda Hogan’s Solar Storms

(1995) and People of the Whale (2008), Louise Erdrich’s Four Souls (2004) and The

Plague of Doves (2008).

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The term “ecocriticism” was coined in 1978 by William Rueckert in his essay

“Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism”. He defines ecocriticism as

“the application of ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature, because

ecology (as a science, as a discipline, as the basis for human vision) has the greatest

relevance to the present and future of the world” (Rueckert 107). Ecocriticism as a

critical literary scholarship concentrates and gives values to the concern for the

current global ecological catastrophe and ecocritics and environmentalists try to find

out the solution for the gap between theory and praxis. According to Joe Moran,

“ecocriticism explores the relationship between literature and other forms of culture

and the natural world, often combining this with a commitment to raising awareness

about environmental issues” (171). The environmental issue is real and people face

the consequences of ecological destruction in the day to day life. As Kate Soper

rightfully comments “it is not language that has a hole in its ozone layer; and the

‘real’ thing continues to be polluted and degraded” (Soper 124). It is indeed one of the

very significant literary fields which concern for the well-being of the earth. So,

ecocriticism, attempts to re-harmonize the relationship between human and the earth.

In this context, the significance of ecocriticism is to find the solution for the

environmental problems with ecological vision and environmental consciousness to

improve the relationship between human- nonhumans through literary scholarship.

Ecocriticism promotes the ethical stance of ecocentrism which asserts the

value of non-human life in nature. According to ecocritic Scott Slovic, both

ecocriticism and environmental literature ‘are large and contain multitudes’ (Slovic

161). He also claims that ‘this is a global concern’ (ibid). William Howarth in his

essay ‘Some Principles of Ecocriticism’ describes ecocritic as “house judge” (69). He

explains that the words Eco and critic derive from Greek, oikos and kritis and together
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they mean house judge. Basically, Earth is considered as a house to every living and

non-living organism and the most significant aspect of environmental literature is to

develop awareness of the intrinsic value of every living and non-living being on earth.

Ecology as a scientific discipline deals with the organisms’ interconnection with their

environment. Literary ecocriticism’s primary concern is the way the relationship

between human and nature are presented in literary texts. The function of ecocritics is

to delineate the relationship between human and non-human nature and the

representation of nature in literature. The infusion of the science of ecology and

literary art develops an important subject, to put it in Joseph Meeker’s phrase ‘literary

ecology’, in environmental literary scholarship. Literature as a powerful tool plays a

crucial role in depicting the real scenario of the present global environmental crisis.

Many writers have articulated their interest in ecological theme, concern and

awareness through literary genre and cultural texts and depict humans’ attitude

towards non-human animal and the natural environment.

Literary world of ecoliterature consists of the different genre such as poetry,

nature writing, essay, fiction and non-fiction which deals with the appreciation for the

natural world as well as the articulation of environmental catastrophe. In the present

age of globalization, global communication and technological development,

ecological degradation is an ongoing activity. Ecocriticism’s main objective is to

delve deep into human’s relationship with the earth and its natural surroundings. It

throws light on human’s lack of connection with nature and non-human animals. In a

technological world, human’s separation from nature and the non-human world is the

major cause of today’s environmental crisis. Ecocriticism tries to point out the

increasing gap between human and non-human world and ecocritical perspective tries

to find out the ecological values and meaning encircled in the relationship between
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human and nonhuman life. It raises environmental awareness or consciousness

through the study of literary and cultural texts.

In ecocentric view, all living things have inherent value in nature. Ecocentrism

is nature- centred and opposed to anthropocentrism which is centred on the values of

human and promotes human’s superiority among another non-human being.

Generally, the anthropocentric attitude of humans toward nature eventually becomes a

major environmental problem. The environmental crisis is getting more serious with

each new decade and needs serious ecological concern, active involvement towards

awareness about the present vulnerable and fragile natural world. The ecological

insights of environmental philosophy offer ethical values and focus on humans’

destructive impact upon nature. In ecological philosophy, ecocentrism or biocentrism

(life-centred) is a system of values which can help to understand the intrinsic value of

all forms of life on earth. Ecocriticism as a literary field generously endeavours to

explore the representation of nature and significance of place, landscape, natural

environment, the value of land ethics, nature ethics, environmental consciousness and

ultimately human’s interaction with non-human nature through literary texts.

Ecocriticism as a literary critical movement inaugurates in the USA in the late

1980s and in the UK in early 1990s. The environmental literary study breaks through

in the late twentieth century in response to the global emergence of the environmental

movement in the 1960s and early 1970s. It is also known by different names such as

‘literary ecology’, ‘green cultural studies’ ‘ecopoetics’, ‘environmental literary

criticism’ etc. In literary scholarship ‘ecocriticism’ is an academic discipline of

criticism where the problems of global environmental degradation, natural resource

depletion highlight human’s anthropocentric approach towards nonhuman nature. As

a literary criticism, ecocriticism plays a significant role in creating environmental

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consciousness through literary studies. Today many ecocritics, environmentalists, and

writers such as Lawrence Buell, Scott Slovic, Patrick Murphy, Glen A. Love, Cheryll

Glotfelty, Greg Garrard, and Simon C. Estok etc. are associated with ecological

movement; they are the pioneers of this literary field of ecocriticism. According to

Glotfelty, America’s first scholar to hold a professorship of literature and

environment, ecocriticism takes an “earth-centered approach to literary studies”, and

an ecological approach to literary criticism. It mainly concentrates on how literature

interacts with and participates in the entire ecosphere. It is a synthesis of ecology and

literature. It motivates the action of ecological consciousness and self awareness

through text. Cheryll Glotfelty’s significant edition of an anthology The Ecocriticism

Reader: Landmarks in Literary Eecology (1996) defines the new methodology as “the

study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment” (xviii). In

her article “What Is Ecocriticism” published by The Association for the Study of

Literature & Environment, she states that:

Consciousness raising is its most important task. Ecocritics encourage others

to think seriously about the relationship of humans to nature, about the ethical

and aesthetic dilemmas posed by the environmental crisis, and about how

language and literature transmit values with profound ecological implication.

(Glotfelty ASLE)

The ecocritical analysis attempts to raise this environmental consciousness in literary

texts. Jonathan Bate also points out that ecocriticism began ‘in consciousness-raising’

(Bate 8). In the same way, Glen A. Love expresses his view that, “The most important

function of literature today is to redirect human consciousness to a full consideration

of its place in a threatened natural world” (237). The human-nature nexus exists since

times immemorial and the interconnection between human and non-human world is
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interdependent and inseparable. To rejuvenate the eternal bond between human and

non-human world, environmental consciousness and awareness are necessary to

protect the planet from human’s excessive ecological destruction. One of the pioneers

of ecocriticism, Scott Slovic, offers a precise definition that “the study of explicit

environmental texts by way of any scholarly approach or, conversely, the scrutiny of

ecological implications and human-nature relationships in any literary text, even texts

that seem, at first glance, oblivious of the nonhuman world” (Slovic 160). In this

context, ecocritic Laurence Coupe gives an account of the importance of the

interconnection between human-nonhuman relationships and claims that ecocriticism

is “The most important branch of green studies, which considers the relationship

between human and non-human life as represented in literary texts and which

theorises about the place of literature in the struggle against environmental

destruction” (Coupe 302). As a response to the global ecological crisis, ecocriticism

addresses the environmental issues manifested through literature to find the author’s

concern, messages, intention and solution suggested by them. Lawrence Buell says

that “Environment can denote the surroundings of an individual person, a species, a

society, or of life forms generally” (Buell 140). According to Timothy Clark,

Lawrence Buell’s The Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the

Formation of American Culture (1995), a book about Thoreau and his legacy is

considered the most influential work of modern American ecocriticism. Besides

nonfiction and nature writing, ecocritical texts venture into fictional writings.

The evolving concept of ecocriticism first arose in the late 1970’s at the

meetings held at Utah State University of WLA (the Western Literature Association).

Cheryll Glotfelty first proposes the fusion of literature and environment and

meticulously delineates that:

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…ecological criticism shares the fundamental premise that human culture is

connected to the physical world, affecting it and affected by it. Ecocriticism

takes as its subject the interconnections between nature and culture,

specifically the cultural artifacts of language and literature. As a critical

stance, it has one foot in literature and the other on land; as a theoretical

discourse, it negotiates between the human and the nonhuman. (Glotfelty &

Fromm xix)

In earlier times, American Transcendentalist writing and British Romantic poetry

reflected the interconnection between human and the natural world. The famous

transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden or Life in the Woods (1854) is

a valuable book of nature writing and spiritual wisdom. In Britain, Jonathan Bate’s

Romantic Ecology: Wordsworth and the Environmental Tradition (1991) forms the

initial example of a significant early step in the evolution of ecocriticism. He revived

the dominant nineteenth-century perception of the Romantic poet William

Wordsworth as a ‘poet of nature’ whose work forms a coherent protest against the

dominant ideologies of ‘political economy’ and industrialism. American writers such

as Annie Dillard, Edward Abbey, John Muir, Mary Austin, Aldo Leopold, and

Wendell Berry followed the tradition of non-fiction writing, a meditative account of

natural landscape and wilderness. Notable texts in the canon of environmental non-

fiction in the US are environmentalist, conservationist and ecologist. Aldo Leopold, in

his book A Sand County Almanac (1949) depicts the true connection between people

and the natural world and his important concept of “land ethic” which explains the

ethics of treatment of land with love and respect. As he states, “The land ethic simply

enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and

animals, or collectively: the land” (Leopold173) and further he elaborates “a land

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ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to

plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also

respect for the community as such” (Leopold174). He suggested a philosophical sense

of value rather than economic one. Raymond Williams’ The Country and the City

(1973), an account of the depiction of country and city life in English literature since

the sixteenth century, Mary Austin’s collection of essays on the high desert of

California, The Land of Little Rain (1903); John Muir’s rhapsodic journal My First

Summer in the Sierra (1911), or The Mountains of California (1894) and Annie

Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (1974) an account of one year’s observation, and

meditations on evolution in a suburban area of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains,

mirror human-nature connection and the representation of nature in literature.

Environmental ethics is one of a major part of environmental philosophy which

discusses ethical questions regarding the relationship between humans and the

environment. Aldo Leopold's “The Land Ethic,” J. Baird Callicott's “The Land

Aesthetic,” Holmes Rolston III's “Values Gone Wild,” or ecofeminist Karen Warren's

“The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism” are some important examples

of environmental ethical texts. It is important to study ecological crisis with

environmental philosophical perspective to understand and replace the

anthropocentric attitudes towards non-human nature and embrace life-centered ethical

values. The gradual development of the genre of nature writing to the current subject

of environmental justice, environmental racism, environmental pollution, and toxic

study added a new dimension to ecocritical writing.

The modern environmental movement emerges as a political movement in the

1960s with the publication of Rachel Carson’s controversial book Silent Spring

(1962). This landmark book is controversial about the extensive use of pesticide and
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herbicide in industrial agriculture after the World War II. Environmentalism or

environmental rights is a philosophy or ideology which aims environmental

protection, improvement of the health of the natural world and sustainable living.

According to Greg Garrard, modern environmentalism begins with ‘A Fable for

Tomorrow’, in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1) where she depicts the disruption

between human and nonhuman’s harmonious relationship once existed and especially

the harmful use of pesticide and herbicide on the natural environment. Garrard further

tells that “ecocriticism is closely related to environmentally oriented developments in

philosophy and political theory. Developing the insights of earlier critical movements,

ecofeminists and social ecologists and environmental justice advocates seek a

synthesis of environmental and social concerns” (3).

Since the 1960s, the real and adverse environmental hazardous issues occupy a

worthy topic to argue in ecoliterature, for example, Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent

Spring which is a warning against pesticides and herbicides and Paul Erlich’s 1968

book Population Bomb which deals with the issue of overpopulation. Modern

environmentalism started from the 1960s with these two thought-provoking books, as

it created a new sensation about harmful effects of pesticides on health. The

environmental movement includes diverse philosophies and ecological principles to

promote conservation of species and ecosystem, preservation of habitats and natural

resources, promotion of sustainable development, biocentrism etc. As it is popularly

considered that modern environmentalism began with Rachel Carson, who is an

American marine biologist, conservationist and environmentalist, her Silent Spring

warns against the use of pesticides and herbicides especially random spraying of DDT

and other harmful chemicals emitted from chemical industries harming the birds of

the surrounding place and other living beings. She is the first one who tries to warn
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about the environmental problems caused by chemical pesticide and brings

environmental awareness to people’s life. Environmental literature addresses various

environmental issues, awareness and deals with environmental themes especially the

relationship between human, society and the natural environment. An ecocritical

approach towards literature highlights the writer’s concern for environmental issues

and the relation between humanity and the natural environment. Some famous earlier

literary texts such as Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851), Mark Twain’s

groundbreaking novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), Jack London’d

famous book The Call of the Wild (1903), Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932),

Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony (1977), Don DeLillo’s White Noise (1986), John

Updike’s Toward the End of Time (1997), Linda Hogan’s Power (1998), Margaret

Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and Oryx and Crake (2003), Amitav Ghosh’s

The Hungry Tide (2005), Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss (2006), Indra Sinha’s

Animals’ People (2007), Sarah Joseph’s Gift in Green (2011) etc. deals with human-

nonhuman relationship and environment related problems.

In the twenty-first century people face various current environmental problems

like global warming, climate change, overpopulation, natural resource depletion and

the health hazards due to genetic engineering etc. and the significance of the study of

the environmental problems like this in literary field generates environmental

awareness and public ecological consciousness. According to Greg Garrard,

…environmental problems require analysis in cultural as well as scientific

terms, because they are the outcome of an interaction between ecological

knowledge of nature and its cultural inflection. This will involve

interdisciplinary scholarship that draws on literary and cultural theory,

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philosophy, sociology, psychology and environmental history, as well as

ecology. (Garrard14)

Environmentalism as political, ethical movement deals with the protection and

improvement of the quality of the natural environment and sustainable development

through changes to environmentally harmful human activities and reevaluate human’s

relationship with nonhuman nature. According to Neil Carter:

Modern environmentalism was a political and activist mass movement which

demanded a radical transformation in the values and structures of society. It

was influenced by the broader ‘politics of affluence’ and the general upsurge

in social movement protest at that time. Modern environmentalism came of

age on 22 April 1970 when millions of Americans celebrated and protested on

Earth Day; still the largest environmental demonstration in history. (Carter 5)

At present, Earth day is honoured and celebrated on April 22, it spreads awareness

about anti-war protest movement. Earth day’s main goal is an environmental concern,

protection and conservation. In response to the event of first Earth day in 1970, the

environmentalist started influencing philosophers to consider the moral or ethical

aspects of environmental problems. The reputed organisation of “The Association for

the Study of Literature and Environment” (ASLE, established in 1992) has become a

worldwide phenomenon. Many countries like Europe, East and South Asia, Australia,

New Zealand, Ireland, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Canada etc. are proudly

associated with this organisation. They organize biennial conference program and

create an official ecocritical journal called ‘ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in

Literature and Environment’ where global interaction has been possible for the

scholars and environmental writers and other creative artists to exchange ideas, facts

and valuable information about the topic of literature and environment.

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Ecocriticism in literary text endeavours to articulate environmental problems

and brings out the relation between human, culture and nature. This thesis examines

selective contemporary American novels with ecocritical perspective to analyse the

inherent value of nature with the exploration of ecocrtical branches such as deep

ecology, social ecology, ecofeminism, environmental ethics, politics and

environmental justice in depicting the relationship between human and nonhuman

nature embedded in literary texts. It analyses ecological theoretical approach to

ecological problems and presents the different worldview of radical ecological

theories such as deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism in order to explore

the root causes of the cultural, social and environmental crisis. The environmental

theoretical perspective subverts the old Western dualistic philosophy and looks for a

new alternative ecocentric and biocentric world view. The ideology of ecocentrism

proposes the inherent value of all living beings on earth which indicates a challenge to

the traditional Western patriarchal environmentalism. Deep ecology, ecofeminism’s

holistic ecocentric approach of reverence for nature and the belief of

interconnectedness of all life-forms offer a new paradigm which challenges the

Western environmentalism. The social ecology’s idea of the absence of domination

and non-hierarchical society is incorporated as a viable environmental ethics to

challenge the existing anthropocentric hierarchical patriarchal society. These

significant environmental theories and ethical values provide a holistic view to

interpret the present ecological crisis and generate environmental consciousness.

At the twenty-first century the ongoing industrialization, advanced scientific

development, rapid urbanization reflects humans’ anthropocentric approach towards

the natural environment. The arrival of the environmental movement as a social,

ethical, and political movement during the time of the 1960s and the early 1970s
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focuses on environmental protection due to increasing environmental pollution and

natural resource depletion. The inclusion of Green politics as a political movement

aims to create an ecologically sustainable society by addressing eco-political strategy

for environmental injustice through implementing an environmental policy which

aims to lead a sustainable living. Environmentalism or environmental rights basically

deals with conservation, preservation, and enhancement of the natural environment. It

attempts to reduce the harmful impact of human activities which cause industrial

pollution, waste hazards, toxic chemical release on the sea, overconsumption and

genetic manipulation etc. The environmental crises such as climate change, global

warming, and excessive loss of natural resources, deforestation, massive species

extinction, and pollution of the environment have become an essential global concern

for the well-being of the environmental health of the planetary ecosystem.

Mainstream environmentalism’s shallow approach to environmental

development and protection such as forest conservation, preservation of natural

resources, control of pollution (air, water, land) and resource depletion etc. is

considered as human-centered. But radical environmentalism which focuses on the

ecological process of a biotic community of the ecosystem shifts its environmental

thoughts from shallow to the deeper approach of ecocentric value system. The Radical

environmentalism emerges from ecocentrism which is nature-centered as opposed to

human-centered or anthropocentric philosophy. In ecological political philosophy

ecocentrism as a value system focuses on the intrinsic value of nonhuman natural

world or the whole ecosphere. This profound change of value system seeks to

challenge the dominant Western anthropocentric ideology. Environmental historian

Donald Worster very aptly points out the present ethical crisis of humans in these

lines:
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We are facing a global crisis today, not because of how ecosystems function

but rather because of how our ethical systems function. Getting through the

crisis requires understanding our impact on nature as precisely as possible, but

even more, it requires understanding those ethical systems and using that

understanding to reform them. Historians, along with literary scholars,

anthropologists, and philosophers, cannot do the reforming, of course, but they

can help with the understanding. ( Worster 27)

With advanced technology and scientific development, humans fixed their focus only

on attaining human comfort and benefit from the natural resources without checking

their excessive exploitative and dominative attitude towards nature. This narrow

anthropocentric view neglects the intrinsic value of nonhuman beings and the

wellbeing of other forms of life and creates the disruption of human-nonhuman

relationship. And to make the relationship better, human society needs ecocentric

philosophical intervention to solve the existing environmental crisis. Cheryll Glotfelty

precisely points out that “we have reached the age of environmental limits, a time

when the consequences of human actions are damaging the planet’s basic life support

systems” (Glotfelty ASLE). Thus, ecocentric and holistic worldview aims to subvert

the limited sense of human-centered approach towards nonhuman nature. Traditional

western ethics’ primarily centered on human welfare and survival of the human

species on earth but consequently it neglects human’s destructive attitude towards

nonhuman nature.

During the time of the 1960s and 1970s, the emergence of environmental

philosophy and green politics’ various thought- provoking ideologies have made

people ponder over the critical ecological issues and concerns about the effects of

globalization, global warming, wildlife preservation, energy production and

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consumption, and sustainable development to name a few environmental topics to

enter into the area of environmental politics. Andrew Dobson in his book Green

Political Thought points out that the issue of environmental concern’s entry into the

global politics from margins to the mainstream of political life (2). Green politics is

the manifestation of ecological ideologies such as deep ecology, social ecology, eco-

anarchism, ecofeminism, bioregionalism etc. Green philosophy criticises and

challenges humans’ anthropocentric behavior towards nonhuman nature and offers

holistic eco-centric worldview. In various social and political movements,

environmental problems become an important political subject to seek for an

ecologically sustainable society. The arrival of ‘Green politics’ as a social, political

and environmental movement brings an awareness with its green school of thought

such as deep ecology, ecofeminism, ecosocialism, and social ecology which provides

a holistic view of sustainable life. John Barry, in his book Rethinking Green Politics

says “concern of green politics is to create modes of human interaction with the non-

human world which are ecologically sustainable and morally symbiotic” (Barry 9).

Green politics concentrates on the non-human world, human- nonhuman relation,

sustainability and wellbeing of the earth. This Green phenomenon has a positive

approach and seeks a healthy and brighter future ahead. The rise of the philosophical

aspects of environmental problems begins with the celebration of first Earth Day in

1970. Green movement or Green politics is a political ideology which protects the

integrity of Earth's ecological communities and ecocentric values to understand the

interconnectedness of life.

In his book The No-nonsense Guide to Green Politics (2010), Darek Wall

elaborately gives information about the Green party member’s history and growth of

Green Politics and its focus on ecological politics and social justice. According to
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him, the German Green Party was elected to the West German parliament in 1983 on

a platform with four key elements: ecology, social justice, peace and grassroots

democracy. He also adds that,

Green parties were born in the early 1970s, grew in the 1980s and green

politics is now a global phenomenon. Green politics is first and foremost the

politics of ecology; a campaign to preserve the planet from corporate greed, so

we can act as good ancestors to future generations. However, green politics

involves more than environmental concern. (Wall 12)

According to Charlene Spretnak and Fritjof Capra, in their book Green Politics

speaks about a new dimension of politics, a new paradigm or new world order.

According to Spretnak, the core concepts of Green politics are sustainability and

interrelatedness.

In advocating a cooperative world order, Green politics rejects all forms of

cxploitation - of nature, individuals, social groups, and countries. It is

committed to nonviolence at all levels. It encourages a rich cultural life that

respects the pluralism within a society, and it honours the inner growth that

leads to wisdom and compassion. Green politics, in short, is the political

manifestation of the cultural shift to the new paradigm. (Xvi-xvii)

Green philosophy and ideology provides an ethical consciousness about the moral

worth of nonhuman nature and through the implementation of social, political changes

create an environmental consciousness towards non-human nature in readers’ mind.

Environmental philosophy is a significant branch of philosophy, engages its

concern to the meaning or way of life to understand the ethics and inherent value of
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all forms of life in nature. Ecological theory or Green philosophy challenges human’s

exploitative behaviour and seek for a sustainable society and harmony in the

ecosystem by offering alternative worldview for a sustainable living. This ecocritical

study explores various ecological dimensions and implication of human-nature

interrelationship to highlight human’s anthropocentric attitude towards nonhuman

nature by the deep ecological view, challenging domination and social hierarchy in

society through a social ecological view, and ecological feminism view points out

androcentrism as the cause of the exploitation of natural resources and domination of

women. Altogether they offer an alternative holistic worldview to understand the gap

between human and nonhuman nature. According to the Barry Commoner’s first Law

of Ecology “Everything is connected to everything else” (126), but in the modern

technological world, the natural balance of the interconnection of all living things in

the ecosystem and the value of nature are regrettably neglected. Humans are more

prone to show anthropocentric behavior towards non-human nature and disrupt the

balance of biodiversity in the ecosystem. In environmental ethics and philosophy,

anthropocentrism is a major concept where it is considered as the root cause of

environmental problems created by human action in the ecosphere. Environmental

ethics questions humans’ anthropocentric attitude to nature and advocates the view of

biocentrism which is extensively advocated by deep ecologists and ecofeminist. In

ecocritical perspective, environmental philosophy has a valuable implication in

analyzing the present ecological crisis.

Environmental philosophy includes deep ecology, environmental ethics,

environmental aesthetics, eco-spirituality, ecofeminism and environmental critical

theories. Its main concern is recognition of the value of the natural environment and

human’s relationship with nature. Neil Carter observes that in environmental

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philosophy the key concept is ‘value’. He further explains “A central tenet of green

thinking is the belief that the current ecological crisis is caused by human arrogance

towards the natural world, which legitimates its exploitation in order to satisfy human

interests. Human arrogance towards nature is rooted in anthropocentrism: the belief

that ethical principles apply only to humans and that human needs and interests are of

highest” (Carter 15). In an anthropocentric belief system, humans have an intrinsic

value and they are considered the central or most significant entities in the world. But

environmental ethics concern more about the value of bio-centrism or non-

anthropocentrism. The philosophical approach to the environmental crisis is a unique

perspective to know how to lead a quality life with simple means without incessantly

destroying the natural resources and interfering to the non-human world. It is an

ethical necessity of every human to understand the value of all forms of life and that

humans have no right to exploit the natural resources. Similar to this view, Norwegian

philosopher Arne Naess’s concept of ‘deep ecology’ says that ‘Humans have no right

to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital needs’ (Naess 68). The

concept of deep ecological worldview provides a new paradigm of an ecological

worldview which can bring changes into human’s anthropocentric attitude towards

nonhuman nature to maintain the ecological balance in the ecosystem. To solve social

and ecological problems, a philosophical worldview which considers a moral

extension of identification with non-human nature is required so that human can

naturally care and feel sympathetic for the nonhuman nature regardless of its

instrumental value. The ecocentric approach recognizes the fundamental fact that

human being is not superior to other nonhuman being but only a part of the

ecosystem. Ecocentric awareness assumes the priority of non-human nature over

human culture and explores humans’ dominant position in the human-nonhuman

 20

relationship. Thus, the vision of Deep ecological movement provides the moral and

ethical values which play a significant role in environmental philosophy to address

both ecological crisis and ethical crisis in the ecological community.

According to Bill Devall ‘Deep Ecology seeks the transformation of values

and social organization’(128). Deep ecologists believe in holistic ecocentric view of

nature and Arne Naess’s concept of deep ecology provides a better understanding of

humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Deep ecology has a great influence in

developing environmental ethics. Norwegian Professor Arne Naess (1912-2009) first

coined the phrase ‘Deep Ecology movement’ and ‘ecosophy’ to express deeper

philosophical aspects of ecological awareness and nonviolent ecological activity

towards the non-human world. His own ecosophy is called ‘Ecosophy T’ which

propounds ecological equality and the fundamental norm of ‘Self-realization!’

through equal identification with nature. His ideology of deep ecology appreciates the

ecological diversity and magnificence of the natural world. Deep ecological

perspective generally extends moral consideration to non-human entities such as trees,

water, and land and gives respect and value to all living creatures on earth. This

ecocentric view reverberates Aldo Leopold’s ‘land ethic’ which considers land as an

ecological community including other entities of life. Identification with non-human

nature is an essential subject in Naess’s ecosophy. In the face of contemporary

environmental crisis deep ecology’s ecocentric and holistic view gives a direct

criticism to anthropocentrism which derives from Western philosophy. Deep

ecologists believe that the roots of environmental problems are closely associated

with human-centeredness, which does not give proper respect and value to nonhuman

nature. Cheryll Glotfelty in her introduction to the highly influential anthology The

Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Eecology depicts deep ecology as

 21

“radical critique of anthropocentrism” (Glotfelty xxiv). At present in technological,

globalized world, human’s separation from non-human nature creates an ethical and

moral void in human conscience and thus needs a transformation of the ideological,

cultural and spiritual mode of living in order to deal with the persistent environmental

crisis. Human’s place in the ecosystem functions only as a part of the whole, a non-

hierarchical position in the web of life. Modern ecological thoughts try to overcome

anthropocentric ideology and look for a more holistic view of ecocentrism or nature-

centered worldview to challenge the notion of human superiority over another living

being.

All over the world many writers and philosophers have shown their special

concern to the environmental crisis and its global impact and advocate the necessary

intervention of environmental philosophy in humans’ life to fulfil the moral and

ethical void which is connected with the current ecological crisis in human society.

The leading theorists and activists such as Alan Drengson, Bill Devall, Gary Snyder,

Neil Everndon, Robyn Eckersley, Kirkpatrick Sale, Warwick Fox and Theodore

Roszak etc. are the supporters of the deep ecology movement. The ideology of deep

ecology is one of the significant Green political theories which explores the ecocentric

view of the human and non-human relationship and critique human’s anthropocentric

attitude towards nonhuman nature. According to Serpil Oppermann, “ecocritical

discourses converge on non-anthropocentric knowledge practices, which entail a

consensual focus to address and conceptualize the global environmental crisis in socio

cultural and literary contexts” (412).

In the field of environmental ethics, Arne Naess’s the radical concept of deep

ecology advocates an ecologically sensible way of living and it also seeks out deeper

aspects of life by following the platform principles. It inculcates individual ecological

 22

self to expand their horizon beyond their ego self to wider Self to include all of

Nature. Deep ecologists attempt to understand the natural process in the ecosystem

and observe the interconnection of every living being and their intrinsic value in

nature. Therefore, the concept of deep ecology rekindles the very old and valuable

relationship of human and non-humans to keep the ecological balance and restore

harmony in the ecosphere.

The ideology of social ecology highlights the relationship between society and

the natural environment, critiques the social hierarchy and domination in society and

aims for reconstructing a society with ecological principles. Murray Bookchin is an

American philosopher and social theorist who is the founder of the concept of social

ecology. His social ecology as a secular discipline attempts to find a new way to

subvert the old dominating and hierarchical social norms and conquer the present

environmental crisis by implementing a new social structure. Social ecology is one of

the influential radical ecological philosophies which create a revolution in

environmental thinking and promotes the ideology of non-hierarchical social system.

It claims that the environmental crisis is a result of the hierarchical organization of

power and the authoritarian mentality rooted in the structures of human society. The

ideology of social ecology is non-oppressive and non-hierarchical social concept

which claims for freedom from social hierarchy and its oppressive authority. Murray

Bookchin (1921-2016) is one of the significant representatives and pioneer of social

ecology movement which helps to develop contemporary Green political theory. He is

an American anarchist and libertarian socialist. He aims to create a social theory

which can transform the old oppressive societal structure to new society by subverting

the notion of higher social authority. His ideology of social ecology is elaborately

discussed in his important books such as Our Synthetic Environment (1962), Post-
 23

Scarcity Anarchism (1971), Toward an Ecological Society (1980), The Ecology of

Freedom (1982), The Politics of Social Ecology: Libertarian Municipalism (1997)

and Social Ecology and Communalism (2007).

His concept of social ecology claims that the roots of the environmental

problems have a “long history of dominating each other and of colonizing the social

and natural worlds as mere resources for power and profit” (Best 337). All over the

world the horrifying and gruesome certain incidents of an environmental catastrophe

such as Bhopal gas incident in India in 1984, Three Mile Island nuclear explosion in

United States in 1979, the catastrophic nuclear Chernobyl accident in Soviet Union in

1986 and the proposed James Bay Hydroelectric power project at Quebec (Canada)

since 1974 leads to serious concern about environmental degradation globally. The

global phenomenon of Green consciousness, social issues and environmental

sustainability became a vogue in environmental thinking of Green politics. Major

concern such as the depletion of the ozone layer, acid rain, deforestation, global

warming, climate change and chemicals in food are the ecological issues associated

with human society. These environmental issues are getting interested in

environmental politics because these ecological issues are related to human society’s

attitude towards nonhuman nature. Bookchin in his article “Death of a Small Planet:

It’s Growth that’s Killing Us” asserts that, “New Age environmentalism and

conventional environmentalism that place limits on serious, in-depth ecological

thinking have been increasingly replaced by social ecology that explores the

economic and institutional factors that enter into the environmental crisis”

(Bookchin). As scientific development and technological progress have led to the

present global ecological crisis such as depletion of natural resources and degradation

of the earth’s ecosystem which threatens the human existence and survival, the
 24

subject of the survival of human becomes a question in future. Day by day humanity’s

increased alienation from nature through modernization and urbanization in

contemporary society reflects the links between ecological problems and social

problems. According to social ecologist John Clark,

Social Ecology is a comprehensive holistic conception of the self, society, and

nature. It is, indeed, the first ecological philosophy to present a developed approach to

all the central issues of theory and practice. It sets out from the basic ecological

principle of organic unity in diversity, affirming that the good of the whole can be

realized only through the rich individuality and complex interrelationship of the

parts, and it applies this fundamental insight to all realms of experience. (91)

So, the social ecology’s ethical approach to society, critiques the current social,

political, and anti-ecological trends and it also advocates a reconstructive, ecological,

communitarian society. Clark also points out that, “A major project of social

ecological analysis has been its attempt to demonstrate that local, regional and global

ecological problems are created by authoritarian, hierarchical and exploitative social

institutions” (1569). The philosophy of social ecology believes that humanity can

create a sustainable and ecological society through environmental action.

In the concept of ‘social ecology’, the idea of man’s authoritarian mentality of

controlling nature shows the role of society which plays a pivotal factor in the

ecological disaster. It is also considered as the root of hierarchical social structure and

the ideology of oppressive social structure which is related to environmental

problems. Social ecologists believe that human’s relationship with the natural world

should be non-hierarchical to lead a healthy lifestyle in society. Brian Tokar in his

article “On Bookchin’s Social Ecology and its Contributions to Social Movements”

pointed out that,

 25

Bookchin always insisted that ecological issues be understood primarily as

social issues and was impatient with the narrowly instrumental approaches

advanced by conventional environmentalists to address particular problems.

The holistic outlook of ecological science, he argued, demands a social

ecology that examines the systemic roots of our ecological crisis while

challenging the institutions responsible for perpetuating the status quo. (53)

Social ecology's social element comes from its position that nearly all of the world's

ecological problems stem from social problems. These social problems arise from

structures and relationships of dominating hierarchy. Social ecologists argue that apart

from those produced by natural catastrophes, the most serious ecological dislocations

of the 20th and 21st centuries have economic, ethnic, cultural, and gender conflicts,

among many others. Murray Bookchin rightly points out the fact that “Just as men are

converted into commodities, so every aspect of nature is converted into a commodity,

a resource to be manufactured and merchandised wantonly…. The plundering of the

human spirit by the market place is paralleled by the plundering of the earth by

capital” (24-5).

Bookchin speaks of harmony between human beings and the natural world. He

proposes for an ‘organic societies’ providing alternative to hierarchical societies. So,

now this chapter here discusses the role of social hierarchy and domination of nature

in society and how it is connected with the ecological crisis in selective novels. In this

chapter the selected fiction portrays varieties of social situation which reflect human

society’s relationship with the natural world.

The social ecological analysis provides insights for the environmental

organizations and grassroots movement’s struggle to fight domination in society.

 26

Social ecology criticizes liberal environmentalism, Marxism and deep ecology

because they all lack the social aspect and failed to see the social-institutional causes.

George Sessions points out that “Social Ecologists tend to be concerned primarily

with issues of human social justice: they see ecological problems as essentially

political and stemming from capitalism and problems of social hierarchy and social

class domination” (266). He also mentions that social ecologists decline the

ecocentrism of Deep Ecology platform and its criticism of anthropocentrism. They

fight for human social justice and focus on society’s relationship with the natural

environment. Bookchin says that ““deep ecology”, despite all its social rhetoric, has

virtually no real sense that our ecological problems have their ultimate roots in society

and in social problems” (Bookchin 3). He focuses on the social system and its role in

the relationship between society and nature. He challenges deep ecology and supports

the politics of social ecology. According to Wall, “Bookchin argued that human

societies cannot be reduced to biology; we can only solve ecological problems by

rejecting naturalism and deep ecology” (55). Therefore, Bookchin refuses the idea of

human ‘self-realization’ of Deep ecology, and claims for a human consciousness

about the society’s role in environmental degradation. Darek Wall points out that

Bookchin has “challenged deep ecology and advocated a politics of social ecology.

He believed that hierarchical societies dominated by elites were the main cause of

environmental destruction” (57).

And the ideology of ecofeminism deals with the relationship between women

and nature and how they are exploited by patriarchy’s oppression and domination on

both women and nature equally. The philosophy of ecofeminism tries to subvert the

oppressive structure of patriarchal dualism such as culture and nature, man and

woman, mind and body and proclaims a new paradigm of ecological thought of
 27

women’s spiritual connection with nature, defending their oppressive ‘other’ status in

society by celebrating the women-nature connection. Ecofeminism as a third wave of

ecocritical approach critiques the dominating patriarchal conceptual structure in a

society which recognizes the ongoing parallel oppression of women and nature.

According to the prominent ecofeminist Greta Gaard, “Ecofeminism calls for an end

to all oppressions, arguing that no attempt to liberate women (or any other oppressed

group) will be successful without an equal attempt to liberate nature” (1). Ecofeminist

Gretchen Legler defines ecofeminist literary criticism as “ a hybrid criticism, a

combination of ecological or environmental criticism and feminist literary

criticism…One of the primary projects of ecofeminist literary critics is an analysis of

the cultural construction of nature, which also includes an analysis of language,

desire, knowledge, and power” (Legler 227).

The twenty-first century of modern lifestyle seems to dishonor the old

traditional values and runs after advanced technology, newer invention, more profit

etc. as a result, an increase of environmental crisis and loss of natural resources. Since

ages, in human society, the position of women and nature are devalued and oppressed.

Ecofeminist analysis explores women’s identity, liberation, empowerment, and

selfhood through reconnecting with nature. It consolidates and strengthens women’s

relationship with the natural environment. According to Maria Mies and Vandana

Shiva, “Ecofeminism is about connectedness and wholeness of theory and practice. It

asserts the special strength and integrity of every living thing (14).

Ecofeminism and Social ecology together support ‘the anti-hierarchical

philosophy of “social ecofeminism,” represented by Chaia Heller, Ynestra King etc.

who have worked with the Institute for Social Ecology. Charlene Spretnak, and

Starhawk have developed “spiritual ecofeminism,” which is a stream of ecofeminism

 28

drawn from radical feminism and womanism. Gaard includes Native American

activist Winona LaDuke among womanists whose work has contributed to spiritual

ecofeminism. Vandana Shiva, who has concentrated her efforts on the preservation of

indigenous seed stock against corporate, attempts to take and patent them, is called a

“socialist ecofeminist,” influenced by socialist feminism. Gaard states that “liberal

ecofeminists” have not contributed to the transformative vision of ecofeminism, yet

the liberal tactics of institutional politics have been utilized by ecofeminists on

occasion. “Animal ecofeminists,” such as Carol Adams and Marti Kheel, draw upon

animal liberation feminism, and “activist feminism” is the source of “activist

ecofeminism.” It is an interesting representation and categorization of ecofeminists

according to their vital interests, and this different categorization connects to the

interests of the respective feminist perspectives and their concern for various

environmental issues related to environmental consciousness and ecological

sustainability. Robyn Eckersley, in her book Environmentalism and Political Theory:

Toward an Ecocentric Approach (1992) explains:

…ecofeminism has taken the historical/symbolic association of women with

nature as demonstrating a special convergence of interests between feminism

and ecology. The convergence is seen to arise, in part, from the fact that

patriarchal culture has located women somewhere between men and the rest of

nature on a conceptual hierarchy of being (i.e., God, Man, Woman, Nature).

This has enabled ecofeminists to identify what they see as a similar logic of

domination between the destruction of nonhuman nature and the oppression

of women. (64)

Ecofeminists believe that the patriarchal conceptual framework should not exist in

society and they resist this dominating force to seek an ecologically sustainable
 29

society. They try to reconstruct a society with the aid of feminine principles and try to

challenge the dominating patriarchal notion. They critique the existing hierarchical

dualism and “masculine” culture and seek to subvert the patriarchal hierarchy.

According to Martin Koppel, “Ecofeminists examine how humans use nature, how its

domination by men leads to overgrazing and the tragedy of the commons and finally

causes the destruction of animal and plant life. Nature is included in the category of

the dominated and oppressed” (qtd. In Mulvaney 120).

Ecofeminism offers an alternative worldview which celebrates life, self, the

natural world and the bond between women-nature, women-nonhuman being with a

holistic ecological view. According to Eckersley, “some ecofeminists have argued

that there is something special about women’s experience that makes women better

placed than men to identify with nonhuman beings, ecological processes, and the

larger whole” (66). She also explains her “body-based argument” that “the special

connection between women and nature is usually presented as something that is

grounded in women’s reproductive and associated nurturing capabilities” (66). In this

context, ecofeminists believe in the celebration of nurturing, cooperating, spiritual

connection with nonhuman being, and seek for a sustainable way of life to reduce the

gap between human-nonhuman relationships. The prominent ecofeminists, Greta

Gaard, Karen Warren, Ynestra King, Vandana Shiva, Carolyn Merchant, Val

Plumwood, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Ariel Salleh etc. contributed their view on the

development ecofeminist theory.

An analysis of the select texts by American women writers with ecocritical

perspective presents each of these authors’ concern for environment environmental

problems. Contemporary American best-selling author and social activist Barbara

Kingsolver (1955- ) is a writer, poet, and essayist. The selected two novels Prodigal
 30

Summer (2000) and Flight Behaviour (2012) focus on the current environmental

issues like a human-nonhuman relationship, species extinction, use of chemical

pesticide, wildlife management, global warming and climate change etc. Her novel

Flight Behaviour is shortlisted for Women’s Prize for Fiction 2013. Like her other

novels, these two novels give a social message to the reader. In one of her interviews,

she says that “Literature is a wonderful tool for social change and to wake people up

to their responsibility” (Kingsolver).

American novelist and film documentarian Ruth Ozeki (1956-), in her writings

deals with social issues and themes like race, multicultural religion, war, science,

technology, and environmental justice and politics etc. Her chosen two novels My

Year of Meats (1998) and All Over Creation (2003) deal with genetic engineering

especially hazardous effects of genetic modification of food on health. Her passion for

documentary filming and research about genetic engineering for environmental

awareness make her write about this grave environmental issue and to give the

message about the hazards of genetic manipulation. In 1998, her novel My Year of

Meats was awarded both the Kiriyama Prize and Imus/ Barnes & Noble American

Book Award. Her All Over Creation deals with farming techniques and food

regulations, especially, the hazards of the use of pesticide and herbicide in potato-

farming family in Idaho. Ozeki expresses her environmental message through a group

of environmental activist called ‘seeds of resistance’ to protest and give public

awareness about GMOs. The novel received WILLA Literary Award for

Contemporary Fiction in the year 2003 and American Book Award from the Before

Columbus Foundation in the next year 2004.

Native American writers deal with Native American themes, cultural heritage,

spirituality, ecological wisdom, and the age-old tradition of story-telling. Native

 31

American writer Linda Hogan (1947- ) is an environmental activist, poet, and

essayist. In her writing, she deals with the experience of indigenous people, their loss

of cultural values, tradition and their close connection with the natural environment

which has been deteriorating day by day due to the influence of modernization and

urbanization. Her select novels Solar Storms (1995) deals with themes such as

indigenous people’s right to their traditional land, water rights and the issue of

deforestation; the novel People of the Whale (2008) deals human’s unnecessary

interference with nonhuman nature especially the issue of whale hunt for business

profit without considering their less population in the sea.

Native American writer Louise Erdrich (1954- ) also deals with indigenous

people’s struggle for their rights to land and water. Through her writings, she

represents their voices and the traditional ecological way of life. Her novel Four Souls

(2004) deals with the environmental issues of deforestation, loss of natural resources,

and native people’s loss of reverence towards nonhuman nature. Her novel The

Plague of Dove (2008) won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and it was also a finalist

for the Pulitzer Prize. It deals with the indigenous people’s belief in the spiritual

connection between human and nature, also the relationship with the land, water, and

forest. Erdrich meticulously portrays Native American culture, traditional value, and

native people’s ecological wisdom in her writing

This thesis highlights some select American fiction from the perspective of

ecocritical insights and looks at the contemporary American women writers’ growing

concern for the relationship between human and non-human nature, environmental

health, awareness, protection and environmental sustainability projected in the

respective texts. An ecocritical analysis engages in observing the constant changes

and challenges in the relationship between humans and the natural environment in a
 32

literary text. The select novels are steeped in ecological concern with various

environmental problems such as harmful use of pesticide and herbicide, massive

extinction of species, global warming, climate change, loss of native land and natural

resources, hazardous effects of genetic modification of food on health.

A brief review of some literary works dealing with the theme of ecocriticism

and related to environmental problems are detailed next. The thesis titled “‘The

Things that Attach People’: A critical Literary Analysis of the Fiction of Barbara

Kingsolver” submititted by Ceri Gorton, at the University of Nottingham, on 2009, in

which the fifth chapter titled ‘An Ecological Prothalamium: The Union of

Interrelatedness, Ecofeminism and “Othered” Voices in Prodigal Summer” discusses

the women-nature connection in the novel on that chapter. The thesis titled “Narrating

Other Natures: A Third Wave Ecocritical Approach To Tony Morrison, Ruth Ozeki

and Octavia Butler” by Andrea Kate Cambell focuses each writer’s distinctive

counter-narrative approach to disrupt the oppressive environmental narrative. Linda

Wagner- Martin in the book Great Writers: Barbara Kingsolver discusses the

conflicts of gender and power.

Certain articles deal with the chosen novelist’s work with ecofeminist

perspective which utilizes as a secondary source to understand the different

perspective of the author. Articles like Elezabeth Horton Cook’s “Interdependence

and Interconnectedness in Barbara Kingsolver’s Fiction: Self-Revelations and

Thriving Relationships Contingent Upon Connection to Nature in The Bean Trees,

The Poisonwood Bible, Prodigal Summer, and Flight Behaviour” depicts

Kingsolver’s dealing with ecological issues in her novels with ecocentric perspective.

The article on the novel Prodigal Summer “Living With Ghosts, Loving the Land:

Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer” by Dilia Narduzzi, deals with the ecological
 33

principle of interconnectedness and interdependence of all life forms. Marsha

Taylor’s article “Coyote Beautiful: The Joy of Sisterhood in Barbara Kingsolver’s

Prodigal Summer” analyses the interconnection between the female characters with

nonhuman animal and how both are parallel oppressed by patriarchy. The article

“Leopold’s Novel: The Land Ethic in Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer” by

Peter S. Wenz focuses on Aldo Leopold’s ecocentric and holistic concept of ‘Land

Ethic’ which defines a new relationship between people and nature. The article “The

Southern Family Farm as Endangered Species: Possibilities for Survival in Barbara

Kingsolver’s “Prodigal Summer” by Suzanne W. Jones analyses the small farm life of

southern Appalachian bioregion and the struggle to survive, restoring the ecosystem

of the place.

Cheryl J. Fish’s article “The Toxic Body Politic: Ethnicity, Gender, and

Corrective Eco-Justice in Ruth Ozeki's ‘My Year of Meats’ and Judith Helfand and

Daniel Gold's ‘Blue Vinyl’” discuss the health hazards of toxic food and

commercialised methods of meat production. Jennifer Ladino’s article “New Frontiers

for Ecofeminism: Women, Nature and Globalization in Ruth L. Ozeki’s My Year of

Meats” analyzes the effects of globalization and technology on women and nature.

The article by Melissa Paulson “Hybrid Veggies & Mixed Kids: Ecocriticism and

Race in Ruth Ozeki’s Pastoral Heartlands” depicts racism and the environmental issue

of genetically modified food. The article “Halved as I am: Multiperspectivalism in

Ruth L. Ozeki’s My Year of Meats” by Keiko Narisako highlights environmental

justice and ethnic values. Catrin Gersdorf’s article “Authenticity Redux: Ecology and

the “Ethics of Representing” in Ruth Ozeki’s My Year of Meats” analyzes food

ethnicity, Ozeki’s narrative strategies in the story and environmental health.

 34

The article by Silvia Schultermandl “Fighting for the Mother/Land: An

Eeofeminist Reading of Linda Hogan’s Solar Storms” presents Chickasaw poet and

writer’s concern for environmental protection as depicted in the novel Solar Storms.

Joni Adamson’s article “Whale as Cosmos: Multispecies Ethnography and

Contemporary Indigenous Cosmopolitics” gives insights into “indigenous

cosmopolitics” with ecocritical perspective. The article “Traditional Mothers and

Contemporary Daughters in Linda Hogan’s Solar Storms” by Carla Lee Verderame

analyzes the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters, indigenous

culture and its association with environmental concern. The article “The Discourse of

Madness and Environmental Justice in Linda Hogan’s Novel Solar Storms” by Yonka

Krasteva depicts the discourse of trauma and mental illness in the novel, the concern

for environmental degradation, healing of nature, the spiritual life of native people

and the forgotten harmonious relation between human beings and the natural world.

Wajiha Raza Rizvi’s article “Linda Hogan’s Solar Storms: The Nurturing Womb of

Mythology Heals Medusa’s Anxiety and Gaze in Bioregions” deals with the

exploitation of nature and women likewise, the colonial and cultural oppression and

genocide of the Native American tribe. “Reviving Strategies: The Intersection of

Literature and Activism in Contemporary Native Women’s Writing” is an article by

Lisa J. Udel which analyses the strategy of Native American women writing strategy,

environmental activism and the link between natural and spiritual world. The thesis

“Silence, Absence, And Mystery in Linda Hogan’s Mean Spirit, Solar Storms and

Power” by Kathryn Erickson focuses on Hogan’s dealing with environmental

degradation, the oppression and marginalization of Native Americans with

ecofeminist and ecopsychological point of view.

 35

The article “Grounding to Place and Past: Motherhood in the Novels of Native

American Writers Louise Erdrich and Linda Hogan” by Elise Doney deals with the

relationship of motherhood with identity, community, tradition, and landscape. The

article “Pollution of Environment in the Novels of Louise Erdrich’s Tracks and the

Plague of Doves” by C. L Shilaja and Rennet Samson discusses the traditional way of

life of native communities and their struggle to preserve their culture and protect land

from the government.

An analysis of the existing research on the select novels made the researcher

find that apart from some articles written about few novels with ecofeminist

perspective exploring the women-nature connection; these select novels are not yet

explored with ecological theories like deep ecology and social ecology. This thesis is

an innovative attempt to explore the environmental issues in the novels with the three

Green theoretical perspectives such as deep ecology, social ecology and ecofeminist

worldview to get a holistic view about the causes of the environmental crisis. Most of

the researches on the area of ecocriticism focus on male authors. The current research

analyzes three different Green theoretical perspectives to utilize the various

alternative worldview to analyze the environmental problems depicted in the text. As

theoretical tools, the concept of deep ecology, social ecology and ecofeminist view

provide a holistic perspective which aims for an environmental consciousness and

ecological sustainability. The current research is more inclusive in analyzing the

environmental issues with the green theoretical perspective. The objective of this

thesis is to explore the holistic worldview of deep ecology, social ecology, and

ecofeminist view altogether to interpret the present environmental crisis and highlight

human’s exploitative behaviour towards nonhuman nature. It exposes human’s

anthropocentric attitude towards non-human nature and with an ecocentric view. The
 36

holistic view of Green theory highlights the increasing gap between human and

nonhuman relationship and the loss of respect and value towards nonhuman nature.

This ideology promotes environmental consciousness and the harmonious way of

sustainable living.

In ecocritical theory, the green theoretical perspective is essential to

understand the value and ethics of ‘simple living’ and respect towards nonhuman

nature. As environmental literature is getting popularity in the academic world, its

influences are ubiquitous in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essay, and documentary films

which convey the reality of increasing environmental catastrophe of the vulnerable

earth. The selected four eminent contemporary American women writers –American

best-seller Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist and film documentarian Ruth

Ozeki, Native American Linda Hogan and Louise Erdrich have made a remarkable

impression in the literary world by writing about the current environmental issues. The

present research is a textual analysis of green vision, ecological concepts and ethical

values. The purpose of this thesis is to unfold the causes of the separation between

human and nonhuman and human’s anthropocentric attitude towards nonhuman

nature.

This thesis divided into five chapters including introduction and conclusion. A

brief overview of the coming chapters is given below. Chapter One titled

‘Introduction’ deals with the development of ecocriticism as a literary field and gives

a brief introduction to Green theoretical application in the text chosen for study.

Chapter Two entitled ‘Deep Ecological Perspective: Challenging

Anthropocentric View’ analyses the selected texts with deep ecological perspective.

Arne Naess’s deep ecological concepts, his eight Platform principles which critique
 37

human’s anthropocentric attitude towards non-human nature are used as tools for

analysis.

Chapter Three entitled ‘Social Ecological Perspective: Critiquing Domination

and Social hierarchy’ analyses the texts with the social ecological perspective of

Murray Bookchin. The social ecological analysis offers an understanding of the

prevalence of the hierarchies in society. It also gives an insight into the environmental

grassroots movements’ protest against the unequal treatment and injustice done to the

local and common people.

Chapter Four entitled ‘Ecofeminist Perspective: Celebration of Women and

Nature Nexus’ concentrates on women-nature interconnection with ecofeminist view.

Like social ecology, ecofeminism also points out a link between social domination

and the domination of the women and nature. Ecofeminism critiques the dominating

patriarchal structure in a society which recognizes the ongoing hierarchical parallel

oppression of women and nature. This chapter explores how these literary texts deal

with the relationship between women and nature to understand its reciprocal

interaction and mutual relationship which celebrate their special bond. It also

promotes the feminine principles of cooperation, caring, and nurturing nature to resist

and subvert the hierarchical oppression and patriarchal domination.

Chapter five sums up the previous chapters and draws a conclusion that the

Green political thoughts offer various worldviews which become a useful critical tool

for textual analyses in order to examine environmental related themes in literary texts.

It also provides the prospect of a new alternative worldview with its intrinsic or

inherent value in all living beings on earth against the dominant western patriarchal

worldview which is embedded with an anthropocentric approach towards nonhuman

 38

nature. The holistic approaches of deep ecology, ecofeminism and social ecology’s

concept of non-hierarchical society are incorporated as valuable environmental ethics

to replace the existing anthropocentric hierarchical patriarchal views. These

significant ecocentric environmental philosophy and ethical values are against

humans’ anthropocentric behavior towards non-human nature and promote the

concept of eco-centrism. When analysed with the ecocritical lens, these select

American fiction highlight the contemporary American women writers’ growing

concern for environmental awareness and environmental protection. All these

theoretical analyses provide alternative ecological thoughts but it cannot be fruitful

until the theory manifests into practical reality. Green political view tries to eradicate

the huge gap between human-nonhuman relationships and promotes a sustainable way

of living with environmental consciousness.