An Ecocritical Interpretation Of The Land Of Little Rain

Mary Austin is a famous American nature writer. The Land of Little Rain is hermasterpiece, and it has attracted numerous readers. This paper is going to interpret thiswork from the perspective of ecocriticism which accords with the development ofmodern society, and explore the ecological implications in The Land of Little Rainfrom three aspects, which are natural ecology, social ecology and spiritual ecology.In natural ecology, Austin believes that human beings should realize the intrinsicvalue of nature, respect nature, and stay close to nature instead of alienating fromnature. In social ecology, Austin believes that human beings are equal, and they shouldrespect each other, so that they could construct a harmonious social ecology. Thedeterioration of natural and social ecology would inevitably affect human beings’ spirit.In a distorted society, human beings face the loss and disintegration of selves, whichwould cause the imbalance in human beings’ spiritual ecology. Austin believes thathuman beings would achieve Self-realization through living with nature, and onlywhen living harmoniously with nature could human beings construct a harmoniousspiritual ecology.Nowadays, with the deterioration of environment, this research is of greatsignificance. Not only can it enrich the research about the Land of Little Rain, but alsoit would draw readers attention to environmental problems, arouse their ecologicalconsciousness of protecting nature, and then gradually develop the harmoniousman-nature, man-man and man-self relationship, so that the beautiful dream ofconstructing a harmonious ecological home would finally come true.