Does Fire on the Mountain consist of any ecocriticism? Explain in detail any scenes in which this takes place.<\/p>\n
Anita Desai\u2019s novel Fire on the Mountain may be said to be informed by ecocritical approaches. Ecocriticism refers to the ways in which writing may take on board concerns related to the environment and to biodiversity, to the relationships between humans and the natural world, to an understanding of humanity in animalistic terms, and to the impact of humans on the ecology of the planet (Branch and O\u2019Grady, 1994).<\/p>\n
In Fire on the Mountain, characters\u2019 perceptions and relationships are often relayed by Desai with reference to the natural world. In the opening pages of Fire, elderly protagonist Nanda Kaul is portrayed as identifying with pine trees, for example (Desai, 2001, pp. 3-4). Nanda is shown as being attracted to lifeless environments, seeing them as equivalent to her, now barren and at the end of her life (Desai, 2001, p. 4). The prospect of human contact brings Nanda little pleasure, though the sight of an eagle, gliding and in complete control, stimulates yearning for a similar level of freedom and controls over her life (Desai, 2001, p. 21).<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Nanda equates her situation with that of worms under attack by predatory birds (Desai, 2001, pp. 22-24). The associations between Nanda and the natural world around her not only express her existential crisis at the outset of the novel, but indicate the closeness she feels to the planet, now being old and close to death (Shayamala, 2011). There are links also to the sense of identification Nanda has with her home environment (Sabar, 2014). This connection to ecology is reinforced by Nanda\u2019s visiting great grand-daughter Raka, who also sees Nanda in such terms as \u201canother pine tree\u201d (Desai, 2001, p. 44).<\/p>\n
Branch, M. and O\u2019Grady, S. (1994) Defining ecocritical theory and practice. Available at: http:\/\/www.asle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/ASLE_Primer_DefiningEcocrit.pdf (Accessed: 12 July 2016).<\/p>\n
Desai, A. (2001) Fire on the mountain. London: Vintage.<\/p>\n
Sabar, N. (2014) Ecocritical readings: a study of \u2018Fire on the mountain\u2019 and \u2018Where shall we go this summer?\u2019 Available at: http:\/\/ijellh.com\/papers\/2014\/August\/22-226-236-August-2014.pdf (Accessed: 12 July 2016).<\/p>\n
Shyamala, C.G. (2011) Nature and ecocriticism in \u2018Cry, The Peacock\u2019 and \u2018Fire on the Mountain\u2019. Available at: http:\/\/www.the-criterion.com\/V2\/n3\/Shyamala.pdf (Accessed: 12 July 2016).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Anita Desai\u2019s novel Fire on the Mountain is informed by ecocritical approaches. Ecocriticism is the way in which writing takes on the environmental concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n