Can Literature Save the Planet? Reading Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island as Climate Fiction Theertha T.N. Research Scholar, Department of Studies in English, Kannur University, Kerala, India Email id: theerthaprakashtn@gmail.com
Online Published on 26 February, 2024. Abstract Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island traverses land and water, from Sunderbans to Brooklyn and Venice, tracing the consequences of climate change on both terrestrial and aquatic life. While many writers express concerns about climate change and global warming, discussions about cli-fi often question the genre’s impact on readers. The recurring question in such conversations is, “Can literature save the planet? ” This paper aims to scrutinize Ghosh’s portrayal of climate change in Gun Island (2019), examining how he utilizes fiction as a platform to delve into this critical issue of the current century. The analysis will adopt a blue humanities perspective to explore the significance Ghosh assigns to the sea in the novel. The sea is viewed as both a geographical space profoundly affected by climate change and a literary device intricately connecting cultural, mythological, and climatic aspects, along with the refugee crisis addressed in this work. Top Keywords Blue humanities, Climate change, Cli-fi, Mythology, Refugee crisis, Sea. Top |