An Eco-critical Approach To Animal-human Relationship In Western Animal Novels

Various animal images in literary works are increasingly interpreted from the perspective of ecology for ecological crisis is drastically threatening human existence in terms of the subjects like environmental protection and animal protection in western and eastern academic circle. Eco-criticism, originated in 1970s, as the mainstream literature of postmodernism, advocates seeking for deep roots of ecological damages from human culture to find the real solutions to ecological crisis and to provide theoretical basis on which to construct a harmony between human and nature.Trying to analyze relationship between animal images in classical western animal novels and human beings from eco-criticism perspective, this dissertation generalizes the complex relationship between two sides are from weak to strong, from alienated to close and the changing developments under influences of different literary trends. Therefore, animals coexist with human beings and restrain, warn human beings by their close looking at the nature that they will be revenged by nature if human beings still live with anthropocentric idea and run in the opposite direction with ecological theory.This dissertation contains five parts. Chapter one interprets the emergence, development, literary expression and latest status of ecological criticism with emphasis on non-anthropocentrism. Chapter two presents brief literary review of animal novel and introduces current research status of topic on relationship between animal images and human beings both at home and abroad in order to draw a clear clue of close interdependent connection between two sides. Creative points of this dissertation are indicated, too. Chapter three and chapter four are body parts, taking tradition animal novel and modern animal novel as boundary to reevaluate and analyze relationship between animal images and human beings from eco-criticism perspective. To begin with animal totems, the selected texts include The Golden Ass in ancient Greece and Rome, animal novel's prototype Black Beauty in Renaissance, Moby Dick in romanticism, and The Call of the Wild in Realism and Never Cry Wolf in contemporary literature.The last chapter is conclusion generalizing a U-curve exists in human-animal relationship in animal novels. In other words, animals experienced high-low-high attitude diversification in their position according to human beings. It's a rather tortuous journey with development of humans'ideology and ecological awareness. This change in animal novels illustrates humans'tendency in avoiding anthropocentrism and towards eco-centrism in dealing with nature and other creatures. However, humans still have conflict with animals for their own interests. At last, the shortage of this dissertation is clarified.