Literary texts seek to provide discourse on the prevalent social orders of the modern age. Karen Atkinson’s extract constructs a visually awe-inspiring setting of an idylic beach, only to rip the paradise away from the persona, as it is revealed the Americans wish to make the area a military base. Through an eco-critical lens, my interpretation of the extract is that it seeks to represent the American government as disrupting the natural ecology of the land, in favour of an anthropocentric utilisation of the environment. The first part of the extract works to represent the ecology of the beach as interconnected and existing in harmony. Additionally, the persona, named Louise, is represented as emotionally connected to the wildlife, and finds the experience of consuming a turtle painful. Finally, Jamie’s dialogue in which he describes the American government as having made a deal for the rights to the land suggests how their anthropocentric position leads them to manipulate the ecology of the land for their own needs.
The introduction of the beach from Louise’s perspective represents its environment as harmonious and idylic. Louise details how “The light’s soft, the air thick and warm, sticky... It takes her breath away” Visual, tactile and hot imagery is used to construct a calming and peaceful setting. Atkinson represents the beach as naturally beautiful, highlighting how its ecology is in harmony with the surrounding atmosphere. The constructed setting invokes comfort and peace in the reader, who responds with awe and wonderment. Louise further describes the beach as “A chalice of white sand [that] holds the brilliant turquoise sea”. The fusion of visual imagery and metaphor further evokes a stunning vision of natural beauty, representing the ecology of the beach as wondrous and harmonious. The reef below is described as “impossibly alive”. Atkinson uses hyperbole to draw the reader’s attention to how the reef is teeming with life. The raw organic imagery of the reef being abundant with life evokes a sense of awe from the reader, who sees the fruitful prosperity of the reef as awe-inspiring. Atkinson constructs the aquatic lifeforms of the reef as part of the overall ecology of the reef, and thus the excess of life suggests a gestalt harmony in the reef. Hence, the start of the extract works to construct a beautiful setting of the beach as the ecology within is represented as in harmony. -> which builds onto my overall interpretation by....
Eco-critical interpretation: nature is beautiful because it is nature, notion of deep ecology we should be intrisically connected to land and value it at the same level we value ourselves. Humans have historically had anthropomorphic view of nature, privileging themselves and profiting off it, leading to its detriment. You identify this well in introduction, if going to perform a “reading,” follow through in your body and explain which aspects of your reading are informed by theory. In this instance it is probably the deep ecological perspective, valuing ecology for its very own beauty, rather than utility. This lens may change your reading from focusing on the focaliser’s joy, or the utility of the land for recreation, rather a fundamental appreciation of nature.
Analyse how sound and visual devices work together to represent the context for studied text
Explore how performance aspects of the play are used to undermine social hierarchies.
Through the synthesis of performance aspects, Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler works to undermine the male-dominated social hierarchy present at the time of production by empowering Hedda up to her final act of defiance. Hedda’s characterisation throughout the play as recalcitrant towards her husband and the other male characters of the play highlights her undermining of the social hierarchy of the time, finally culminating in her subversion of Brack’s control over her through her suicide. Her character is further built upon through her final dialogue with Lovborg, where she resists the traditional hierarchy by seizing control over the conversation.
Through the construction of Hedda’s character throughout the play as recalcitrant towards her husband and the other male characters of the play
Through the final scene, where Hedda resists the control of Brack through her suicide
Through her final dialogue with Lovborg, where she is in control of the conversation and subverts the traditional hierarchy
