An Ecocritical Reading Of Hemingway's Works

The central task of this paper is to explore Hemingway's representations of nature and his ecological attitude toward nature in his works. This study will mainly discuss two of Hemingway's writings, namely, The Old and the Sea, and "Big Two-hearted River". By focusing on these two works, we hope to gain a view of Hemingway's ecological consciousness from an ecocritical perspective and suggest a way to a better understanding of Hemingway who concerns more about the interconnection between human and the nonhuman rather than man's mastery over other forms of life. It is hoped that this thesis will help nurture and foster people an appropriate sense of engagement with and responsibility for our surroundings, along with all its human and nonhuman inhabitants through reading such an essay.This study is divided into four parts. Chapter one is an introduction which first states the purpose and significance of this paper and then outlines the literary theory of ecocriticism on which the study is based. In chapter two we shall reveal the relationship between Hemingway and nature in order to trace his formation of ecological thinking. Part three explores the ecological consciousness in two of Hemingway's writings mentioned above. Nick's experience in the natural world recovers his mental balance and brings about his changing relationship to the land and its animals. The equality between human and the sea creatures demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea indicates that human is not superior to other creations but a part of the intricate web of life. In respecting nature's being human can live in harmony with his brothers and sisters-the nonhuman.Chapter four concludes that Hemingway is a writer with ecological consciousness. His ideas of the mutuality between human and nature illustrate what modern environmental movements advocate.