Critical Eco-linguistics analysis of Ecological Metaphors in Climate Fiction “The Wall” by John Lanchester

Abstract

This study explores the impact of ecological metaphors in unraveling the ecological degradation and shaping the perception and societal attitudes of the people. An Eco-linguistics analysis of climate fiction text is carried out for promoting sustainable connections of the natural world with the future generations. In order to cope with the deteriorating state of environment (cloud bursts, overflooding, increased smog and global warming), Eco-linguistics has been in vogue from last few decades. By taking this phenomenon, this research investigates how ecological metaphors in selected climate fiction shape ecological awareness and ethical attitudes of the readers towards the environment. This paper is also significant in contributing inter disciplinary collaborations among Eco-critical research studies, ecology and environmental interaction. Moreover, the present study applies Stibbe’s Eco-linguistics framework of Eco critical analysis, Conceptual Metaphor theory by Lakoff & Johnson and Anthropocene theory by Crutzen and Stoermer, to the selected text namely, The Wall by John Lanchester (2019).

By employing qualitative textual analysis of the text selected through purposive sampling, the study will identify and interpret metaphors which are linked to climate change narratives and environmental threats. The study finds that ecological metaphors consistently portray nature as an active participant and construct humans and nature as fundamentally interconnected. Hence, the findings of this study help promote Eco-literacy and climate communication by demonstrating how figurative language in climate fiction shapes environmental perception and encodes ideological position on climate change.