Material Ecocriticism in Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide and Gun Island

Abstract

Material Ecocriticism is a concept which provides a new way of looking at the interconnectedness of every ‘matter’ in this world. Every ‘matter’ has their own agency or stories to tell. The Hungry Tide and Gun Island, are two novels by Amitav Ghosh, which talks about the human impact in ever worsening climate and environmental conditions. The author weaves the stories with the combination of history, politics, legend, adventure, etc., on a journey to understand the role of humans in preserving the environment. This research argues that human beings’ materialism is responsible for the horrors of climate change and environmental degradation. Through using the frameworks of material ecocriticism by Serenella Iovino & Serpil Oppermann, I will look at the two texts to understand the role of materialism in ecological degradation. Furthermore, to understand the role of literature in ecocriticism, I have taken Hubert Zapf. The research aims to understand how Ghosh can be studied in terms of material ecocriticism to depict the role of humans in climate change as well as how eco-critical literatures such as this might play a part in raising awareness, so that the environment as well as everything else in it can be saved while there is still time.