Hemingway and Ecocriticism

G. Srilatha

Description

Hemingway and Ecocriticism focuses on the famous author’s short stories from ecocritical perspectives, which are concerned with the relationship between humans and the landscape and plead for a better understanding of nature. Of Hemingway’s first 49 short stories, 22 exhibit ecological concerns in some form or other. They reveal great damage caused to nature and human beings alike. G. Srilatha holds that while Hemingway was an unabashed hunter, fisher, and sportsman, he was also a conservationist and conveyed this attitude in most of his stories. Many show that human and biological environments are mutually interdependent. Despite ecological devastation, Hemingway’s protagonists turn to nature to escape from the trauma of war and to seek solace.

Sujets

• Political Ideologies
• Literary Criticism
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Literature
• Environmentalism
• Conservation movement
• Ecology
• Short Stories
• Ernest Hemingway
• Nature

Informations

• Publié par: Academica Press
• Date de parution: 01 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781680536911
• Langue: English

Extrait

Hemingway and Ecocriticism
Dr. G. Srilatha
Academica Press Washington~London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Srilatha, G., author.
Title: Hemingway and ecocriticism | G. Srilatha
Description: Washington : Academica Press, 2023.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023933113 | ISBN 9781680536904 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781680536911 (ebook)
Copyright 2023 G. Srilatha
Contents Acknowledgement Introduction Chapter 1 Ecocriticism The origin of Ecocriticism and its definition How Ecocriticism differs from other approaches Ecocriticism, Green Studies and Nature Writing Green Studies Nature Writing Relationship between nature and culture The Growth of Ecocriticism Important Concepts in Ecocriticism Pollution Wilderness Apocalypse Dwelling Animals The Earth Deep Ecology Ecofeminism Ecosphere Oikopoetics Ecocide Ecocriticism in India Survey of ecocriticism in America Pre-Thoreauvian literature of nature Women’s response to the American landscape What Ecocritics do The main task of ecocritics How to evaluate a text The scope of Ecocriticism References Chapter 2 Ecocriticism and Hemingway Nature as a Symbol in Hemingway’s stories: Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory Hemingway’s choice of place Ecological perspectives in Hemingway’s stories References Chapter 3 Deep Ecology References Chapter 4 Ecofeminism References Chapter 5 Ecosphere References Chapter 6 Oikiopoetic Big Two-Hearted River Part-I References Chapter 7 Ecocide References Chapter 8 The Old Man and The Sea A Deep Ecological study References Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Books Periodicals Interview Bibliographies Biographies Criticism Collections of Criticism Web Sites
Acknowledgment
I place on record my indebtedness to all those who have helped me in the completion of this research study. I profusely thank Prof. P. Hari Padma Rani, Women’s University, Tirupati for her valuable guidance on Ecocriticism. Her sharpness in criticism has been a source of inspiration to me to come out with new insights.
I thank all my family members who were a constant support throughout the work. I thank my husband P. Jaya Prakash for his support and my daughters P. Hema Sree and P. Charitha Sri whose love kept me in good spirits. I thank my mother G. Basavapoorna, my brother G. Srikanth and my sister G. Sripriya for their co-operation and motivation.
I sincerely thank our college, PB Siddhartha College of Arts & Science, Vijayawada and our management Siddhartha Academy, Vijayawada for their encouragement.
Introduction
The main objective of this study is to attempt an ecocritical analysis of the short stories of Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. He entered the field of serious fiction through the writing of short stories.
Hemingway volunteered for service in World War I in 1918. He was appointed as an ambulance driver and was severely wounded in the war. Scarred physically and emotionally from the war and stifled by his home environment, Hemingway began a quest for psychological and artistic freedom that led him first to the secluded woods of Northern Michigan, where he had spent his most pleasant childhood years. Returning to America after the war, he wrote short stories. The main focus of his stories was on external detail and the physical environment.
The present study has been carried out with the main objective of exploring how far an ecocritical perspective illuminates the short stories of Hemingway. Ecocriticism has captured the attention of many scholars over the last three decades. Ecocriticism by and large is concerned with the relationship between humans and the landscape. Early theories in literary studies focus on issues of class, race, gender, region as important criteria of critical analysis. The late twentieth century has woken up to a new threat: ecological disaster. Ecocriticism is the result of this new consciousness, that very soon, there will be nothing beautiful in nature to discourse about, unless we are careful.
Ecocriticism is not a unitary theory. Different strands of ecocriticism proliferate into various sub-fields of eco-conscious studies. Ecocriticism expands the notion of the world to include the entire ecosphere. Though ecocritical writings speak of nature, all nature writing works are not ecocritical. The presence of a bond between the human and the non human generally forms the ecocritical basis of a text. Ecocriticism pleads for a better understanding of nature, and it both interprets and represents the natural world. It seeks to protect the ecological rights of nature.
The present study attempts to provide a broader perspective of Hemingway’s short stories by adding an ecological dimension to it. Ecocriticism has provided us with different insights into Hemingway’s short stories. Nature exists as a background setting in most of the stories of Hemingway. Random studies of Hemingway’s stories from an ecocritical stand point do exist. However, no comprehensive study such as the present one has been carried out so far.
In the stories, human and biological environments are shown mutually interdependent. Irrespective of the ecological devastation, Hemingway’s protagonists turn to nature to escape from the trauma of war and to seek solace.
Ernest Hemingway wrote a total of sixty three short stories. Forty-nine of these stories published with the title The First Forty Nine Stories (1939) and The Old Man and the Sea (1952) have been considered for the present study. Out of the forty nine stories, twenty two stories have been found exhibiting ecological concerns in some form or the other. The ecocritical concerns of Hemingway can broadly be classified under the heads deep ecology, ecofeminism, ecosphere, oikopoetics and ecocide.
The first chapter Ecocriticism gives a detailed introduction to ecotheory from its origin to the present. It also examines how ecocriticism differs from other critical approaches. The relationship between nature and culture, gradual growth of ecocriticism and its related concepts are also described in this chapter.
The second chapter Ecocriticism and Hemingway describes the importance of studying Hemingway’s short stories from an ecocritical point of view. This is because his literary relationship with the natural world is obvious in the short stories. Hemingway spent much of his childhood learning about nature, and this has helped him to learn about living in the wilderness. Most of the short stories have autobiographical element about them. Place, especially Michigan continued to inspire Hemingway throughout his writing career because nature continued to be a major theme in many of his works.
The third chapter Deep Ecology attempts to analyze the following stories from the view point of deep ecology. Old Man at the Bridge Now I Lay Me Cat in the Rain A Canary for One The Three Day Blow
This chapter focuses on the environmental crisis and the need for humans to live in harmony with nature. Five stories discussed here exhibit the principle idea of deep ecology that “all living beings have an intrinsic value.” The stories reveal the interdependence of nature and humans.
The fourth chapter Ecofeminism examines the following stories from an ecofeministic angle. The Doctor and the Doctor ’ s Wife Cat in the Rain Mr. Elliot and Mrs. Elliot Up in Michigan The End of Something Hills Like White Elephants A Very Short Story Indian Camp Mother of a Queen
The stories discussed here focus on the parallel destruction of nature and women in a patriarchal society. While the women characters are able to associate themselves with nature, the male characters are insensitive to both women and nature. So nature and women are considered inferior by men. Both undergo parallel suffering in the hands of man. All the stories represent the ecofeminist dimensions of masculinist violence against women and nature at various levels.
The fifth chapter, Ecosphere analyses the importance of place and its influence on the protagonist in the following stories. The Snows of Kilimanjaro The Cross-Country Snow Indian Camp A Clean Well-Lighted Place Soldier ’ s Home
This chapter focuses on the concept of establishing citizenship in both the natural and social worlds. The stories studied here reveal the ecological wisdom obtained by the characters through their association with a particular place.
The sixth chapter, Oikopoetics attempts to study the dwelling of man in nature. Oikos represents the nexus among the human, the nature and the spirit. The two stories selected for the study here are: Big Two-Hearted River Part-I Big Two-Hearted River Part-II
Both the stories exhibit Hemingway’s relationship with the natural world. Nick Adams, the protagonist, undertakes a journey into the burnt landscape. His journey is both physical and spiritual. Through an oikopoetic reading of Nick’s close association with the landscape, we can understand the important role nature plays in the spiritual development of an individual.
Ecocide forms the major concern of ecocriticism. Hence the seventh chapter, Ecocide discusses the ecological destruction caused by the human world to nature and human beings alike in the following stories: The End of Something Big Two-Hearted River Part-I A Natural History of the Dead A Way You ’ ll Never Be On the Quai at Smyrna
All the stories demonstrate the extent of environmental damage caused to the earth on account of the war. War destroys not only people but also the physical environment. These stories show the huge damage caused to nature and human beings alike.
The eighth chapter is an attempt to study the novella, The Old man and the Sea from a Deep Ecological perspective. The novella portrays the interdependence of one another. Any attempt of destroying the harmonious ecological environment will be punished by the nature. The law of nature is mutual understanding and co-existence of strength.
All these stories examined in the presen