On The Animal Ethics In Prodigal Summer

Barbara Kingsolver(1955-)is a contemporary American author whose novels enjoy a wide readership.Known for their political themes,Kingsolver’s novels reflect the author’s concerns on various social issues,such as colonization,class,war and ecology.Her expectation for a harmonious world is revealed in her novels.With her contribution to literature,Kingsolver gained numerous important awards and was awarded the National Humanities Medal,the highest honour in the US for service through the arts.Prodigal Summer(2000)is the fifth novel written by Kingsolver.In the book,the author depicts a rural area in the southern part of the US.The life of humans and animals in the context of ecological crises is presented.This thesis examines the animal ethics revealed in Prodigal Summer,and the thesis consists of five chapters.Chapter One is the introduction,which involves the introduction to Kingsolver as well as Prodigal Summer,the literature review of domestic and foreign studies,an overview of animal ethics,and the introduction to the structure of this thesis.Chapter Two to Chapter Four constitute the main body of the thesis.These sections explore how Prodigal Summer subverts anthropocentrism and reveals the ethical reflections on animals as well as human-animal relationship.Among them,Chapter Two analyzes the anthropocentrism held by the human characters in the novel.In specific,the instrumentalization of animals and the speciesism against animals are analyzed.Based on the consequences brought by these mindsets,it is pointed out that Prodigal Summer embodies the criticism of anthropocentric thinking.The third chapter studies the re-evaluation of animals in the novel.The animals in Kingsolver’s book are respectable creatures with ecological significance,intelligence and sentience.Such image indicates the reverence for animals.Chapter Four discusses the reconstruction of human-animal relationship in Prodigal Summer.The novel presents not only the equality between man and animals but also humans’ obligations toward animals,highlighting the recognition of interspecies equality and the advocacy of humans’ moral responsibility for animals.Chapter Five is the conclusion.As concluded,Prodigal Summer reveals the opposition to seeing humans as the center of the universe.It emphasizes the necessity to respect animals,treat them equally and care for them.In this novel,Kingsolver’s pursuit of a harmonious interspecies relationship and her ecological concerns are perceivable.