An examination of the ways in which prompting readers to attach a new meaning to nature enables them to reconceive the meaning of nature from an ecocritical perspective : Ecocriticism and perception in Richard Adams’ Watership Down

Sammanfattning

This study explores how readers of Richard Adams' Watership Down are prompted to rethink their relationship with nature through an ecocritical lens. Narratology, narrative structure, focalization, and point of view will be analyzed in the study which highlights how the novel uses sensory impressions, textual mood, and ambient resonances to evoke emotional responses and guide readers to engage with its environmental themes. The narrative's anthropomorphized perspective, coupled with vivid descriptions of the natural world, fosters empathy for nonhuman characters and challenges anthropocentric worldviews. Readers of the novel are encouraged to appreciate the interconnectedness of all living beings and reconsider their role in preserving and protecting the environment by the detailed portrayal of nature and exploration of environmental ethics in the book. This study contributes to ecocritical discourse by examining how literary techniques can inspire a sustainable and ethical relationship with the natural world.