Steinbeck's Ecological Thoughts In The Pearl

The Pearl,written by the famous American writer John Steinbeck,is based on a Mexican legend.The plot of the story is simple,but embodies profound meaning.In the novella,Steinbeck shows his hate to the evil nature of colonialism,and the sympathy to the working people represented by Kino.Meanwhile,he expresses his dissatisfaction to Kino who is so greedy that loses himself.Since its publication in 1947,The Pearl has attracted great attention home and abroad.Critics interpret it from various angles,such as feminism,film narrative features and Jung's theory of individuation process.Using Lu Shuyuan's "Tripartite Division of Ecology",this thesis interprets the novella from the angle of ecocriticism.It consists of five chapters.Chapter one briefly introduces ecological issues in The Pearl and literature review.Chapter two is about the origin and features of ecocriticism.Chapter three probes the sources of Steinbeck's ecological thought.Chapter four employs the theory of ecocriticism and Lu Shuyuan's "Tripartite Division of Ecology" to interpret the ecological thought embodied in the novella from man-nature relationship,man-man relationship and man-self relationship.Through the study,it is discovered that Steinbeck's biological holism and environment sensitivity are well reflected in the novella.Steinbeck believes that just like the ecosystem in the sea,human society is also an ecosystem,and exists the "law of the jungle";racial discrimination is the root which leads to emptiness in spiritual world;pursuing the windfall greedily makes a man lose himself and,only when he gets rid of the unconscious desires,can he get rebirth.Chapter five is the conclusion.