“Ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment”(Glotfelty 1996). At its most basic level, ecocriticism is the intersection of literature, culture and the environment. It asks us to examine ourselves and consider the ways in which we interact with the world around us (Brizee 2015). Ecocriticism examines literature through an ecological lens the same way contemporary feminists such as Anita Sarkeesian examine video games and movies through a feminist lens. Just as Sarkeesian examines how women are portrayed in various forms of pop culture, the focus for ecocritics “is the way that wilderness is represented in literature and popular culture” (Brizee 2015).
Due to the emerging environmental crisis, Ecocriticism gained popularity in the 80s and 90s. Scholars believed it was the duty of the humanities and the natural sciences to raise awareness for this cause in order to invent solutions (Brizee 2015). Beginning as the study of literature about nature, it focused on the works of authors such as Henry David Thoreau, who wrote about the wilderness and the beauty of nature. It was more of a celebration of nature than the more activist approach to ecocriticism we see today. The current wave of ecocriticism is less concerned with the sublimity of nature, and more interested in “breaking down of some of the long-standing distinctions between the human and the non-human”(Brizee 2015). This wave also questions the idea that humans live separate from nature and includes urban areas as part of nature. The more activist approach also examines issues of race, class, gender and ecojustice, which concerns the plight of the poor and the other usual victims of pollution. (Brizee 2015).
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood embodies this new approach in every way. Set in a world decimated by climate change, the dystopian novel also explores issues such as sexploitation, corporate greed and the detrimental way we use nature as an everlasting resource for human consumption. It illustrates the disharmonious relationship between humans and nature and warns of the dangers of unhindered technology and aspiration (Bhalla 2014). Atwood also examines ecojustice issues such as the societal inequalities that disproportionately expose the poor and unprivileged to pollution and disease.
Works cited
- Bhalla, Ambika, Bhangu, J.P.K. and Singh, Manmohan. “Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake: An Ecocritical Approach” International Journal of Research, November 2014, edupediapublications.org
- Brizee, Allen et al. “Ecocriticism (1960-present)” Purdue Online Writing Lab, Purdue Online Writing Lab, 2015, https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/13/
- Glotfelty, Cheryll and Fromm, Harold. “The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology”, 1996
