ecocriticism new lens of literary analysis

Ecocriticism offers an alternative perspective on book analysis, characterizing humans according to how we interact with the natural world. It does this by honing literary analysis.

Exposing Hidden Messages: Ecocritics investigates how the environment is portrayed as a peaceful paradise, a source of production, or a helpless victim of human behavior. So it actually uncovers an ideology about our place on earth.

Understanding Character Motivation: There is a focus on how human (and other) characters and the natural world interact. A place a character escapes to for reassurance or the very thing that tests them? This reveals their true views and character.

Investigating Cultural Themes

Ecocriticism explores preconceived notions about our planet and socioeconomic structures. Would the story make someone care more about sustainability, such as not wasting away water vs. littering in another scenario if it’s potentially worsening and leading to consequences, or would environmental neglect be a good moral cause without promoting it? This phenomenon feeds into other societal concerns, drawing similar analyses.

The Importance of Ecocriticism

Ecocriticism is useful because it:

Raises Environmental Awareness: By examining how environmental problems and questions are portrayed in literature, ecocriticism promotes awareness of the environment worldwide, e.g., why we don’t want to make people like Atwood’s powerful novel the marginal book on any given subject but have them mainstreamed.

more than human focused : Ecocriticism requires that we push aside an anthropocentric habit, i.e., the potential for us to only care about things if they benefit humans, and instead truly value the earth in its own right.

Fresh Insights: It gives a fresh perspective and new interpretation of already available literature, therefore enhancing the quality of both traditional and modern writings.

So in a nutshell, if I could say ecocriticism as broadening our understanding of literature, we start seeing the other side, where an environmental message is hidden somewhere inside these stories, and thus it becomes important to question: what kind of relationship do human beings have with nature?