An Analysis Of Ian Mcewan’s Solar From The Perspective Of Arne Naess’s Deep Ecology

Pollutions, food safety, violence, and sense of meaninglessness are fourprevailing issues among the most significant ones in front of human. A BookerWinner Ian McEwan, who is Britain’s national author, has been on the list offrequently-and favorably-studied novelists in the world after Philip Roth, challengedhimself by tackling the controversial topic of global warming with the novel Solar in2010. The same year witnessed his being awarded the Bollinger EverymanWodehouse Prize and Solar being enrolled on the New York Times Best-Seller list.The novel covers adultery, indifference, gender discrimination, violence andgreediness among others that suffocate us while we read it and that eventually lead tothe characters’ chaotic identity as well as the un-solved climate change in the novel.The thesis aims to approach Solar from the perspective of deep ecology founded byArne Naess, with the hope of providing a new angle to study Ian McEwan’s works.The thesis is made up of five chapters.Chapter one briefly provides some information of Ian McEwan and his novelSolar. Besides, the academic researches on Solar in China and overseas are provided.Chapter two discusses the relationship between ecology and literature, as well asthe development of the interdisciplinary study of the two. In some experts’ eyes,ecocriticism draws upon philosophical thought of deep ecology and becomes a vitalforce in environmental movements.Chapter three elaborates the theoretical foundation of the thesis, i.e. the deepecology which was founded in1973by Arne Naess, and distinguishes shallowecology from deep ecology. Based on the study of previous scholars, this thesisdevelops a definition of deep ecology as a theory that bears two normsSelf-realization (ecological self-realization of all) and bio-centric equality (an equalright for each to self-realization) in mind, with the aim of appealing for human’sspontaneous action by recalling human’s intrinsic identity in Nature, or rather finding human’s right position in the whole.Chapter four investigates the eco-crisis embodied in the novel and digs the deepreasons for it. This chapter adopts close reading method and case study method toapproach the novel by availing deep ecology as the theory basis. This chapterexamines the protagonist Michael Beard’s blurred self in his miserable childhood,alienated self in his occupations and tortured self in his marital as well as extramaritalrelationships with females. Beard’s anti-ecological consciousness is responsible forhis misery. It also draws readers’ attention to disturbed identity of Others, in livingforms or non-living forms. What’s more, the chapter analyses Beard’s emergingecological consciousness that contributes to his way to get coherent identity.The last chapter summarizes the thesis and arrives at the conclusion that ArneNaess’s deep ecology provides a new angle to approach Ian McEwan’s Solar and asignificant guidance for us on coping with ecocrisis.