An Ecological Ethic Interpretation Of O Pioneers! And My Antonia

The world is currently faced with severe environmental crisis such as soil erosion,decrease of farmland, the extinction of rare species, etc. The ecological devastation ofecological environment has bitterly endangered the existence and development ofmankind. As the mentor of society, a great many writers express the relation betweenhuman and nature in order to evoke the ecological sense of human beings and realizethe harmony between human and nature.Willa Cather is an outstanding American writer who works on the expression of theharmony between nature and human to call on human's ecological consciousness. Inher works, she vividly depicts the beautiful scenery of the America Midwest prairie,and eulogizes the pioneering and persistent spirit of European immigrants. Shecompletes 12 novels in her lifetime. O Pioneers! and My Antonia are the two novelsthat lay a solid foundation for her literary life. In these two novels, Cather delicatelyexpresses her love for nature and the values achieved in nature. In decades, manyworks of Willa Cather have been introduced in China and have gained a warmwelcome from Chinese readers. Thereafter, many literary scholars and students havefocused on the analysis of Cather herself and her works from different angles, such asthe feminist approach, stylistic approach and so on. However, there are few studieswith ecological approach on her works. This dissertation is intended to analyze OPioneers! and My Antonia with the new rising ecological ethic approach.O Pioneers! and My Antonia reveals the relationship between human and nature. Itembodies the author's ecological thought that longs for nature and cares for nature.This thesis attempts to interpret the ecological ethic thought in these two novels.Accordingly, the thesis will be divided into five chapters: Chapter One mainlypresents a brief introduction of the author's family background and the creativematerial of her works, which mostly come from her childhood experiences. ChapterTwo introduces the theory of ecological ethics and the moral principles. ChapterThree focuses on the presentation of the relationship between human and nature withits values and rights. Chapter Four further reveals that the relation of human andnature can directly influence the interpersonal relation, with its sharp contrast betweencities and countryside. Chapter Five concludes the argumentation of this thesis interms of ecological ethics contained in these two novels, and presents guidance for thefuture development of mankind.With the interpretation of the two novels, the thesis reveals the necessity for human tobe harmonious with nature, to awake human's ecological awareness, to provide ayardstick for human to utilize nature and adjust human's attitude towards nature, tocalls on people to respect every living being, and strive to take ecologicalresponsibilities to create a sustainable environment.