Post-Nature Narratives: Fiction in the Age of the Anthropocene

Abstract

Erle Ellis, a modern thinker on ecology, remarks that, “Nature is gone. . . . You are living on a used planet. If this bothers you, get over it. We now live in the Anthropocene—a geological epoch in which Earth’s atmosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere are shaped primarily by human forces.”(Erle Ellis, 2009) These words show the condition of the modern world where human beings have changed the face of the earth. The rivers, forests, and air have lost their purity because of man’s selfishness. The novel The Overstory by Richard Powers presents how trees also have life and emotions like human beings. The writer shows that man and nature are connected by one common thread. The trees in the novel speak silently through their strength and patience. Jane Bennett, in her book Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Things, also explains that every small thing in the world has energy and value. In this sense, The Overstory teaches people to live with nature and respect all living beings. The novel becomes a voice of harmony, care, and new hope in the world that man has already damaged. Thus, literature becomes a tool to remind humanity of its duty towards the earth.

KEYWORDS:

Anthropocene, Post-Nature, Vibrant Materialism, Ecocriticism, Richard Powers, Jane Bennett.