Ecocriticism in Literature: Examining Nature in Contemporary Fiction

Abstract

Ecocriticism as the treatment of the literary relationships with environment has been found as one of the major means of the study of nature in fiction of our times as is also the place of products produced by the impacts of the modernity. The current paper is dedicated to the discussion of the contemporary writers addressing the issues of environmental problems, linkages between people and nature and environmental questions in the works established with references to the approach of ecocriticism. It gets into how contemporary literature has been responding to this steadily mounting height of environmental concerns related to greenhouse gasses, the loss of forests and extinction of biodiversity. The paper gives the analysis of the position of nature in works of such authors as Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, and Richard Powers and therefore provides the evidence that nature is not merely a background in the writings but can be evaluated as a character on stage that controls not only the lives of human beings but also social order. Another observation made on the paper is the possibility of ecocriticism to unearth the anthropocentrisms story narratives and create more interest in the concept environmental justice. According to the paper, modern fiction can be viewed as a good method of awareness creation and source of inspiration by relating what is read in the works to ecological problems in the real life. It would be concluded that the ecocritical approach may help to turn literature into a powerful means of environmental activism that could affect the overall debate about the need of protecting the environment.