Oppressive Construction of Animals: an Ecocritical Perspective in Linda Hogan s People of the Whale

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1 Oppressive Construction of Animals: an Ecocritical Perspective in Linda Hogan s People of the Whale Abstract Swatilekha Mahato Research Scholar Department of English Pondicherry University Pondicherry India In the 21 st century, the world is manifested with a poignant predicament of ecological disasters; deforestation, animal extinction, and extinction of countless species of flora and fauna etc. In the global environmental degradation both human and nonhuman life are in vulnerable situation because of human s anthropocentric behaviour towards non-human world. In deep ecological principle the equal right to live and blossom and respect for the non-human life is losing the significance in contemporary world. In ecocritical theory deep ecology as a part of environmental philosophy, explores the intrinsic value of human and non-human life on earth. The present paper attempts to focus on the human s excessive interference with the non-human world. In this paper I have chosen contemporary Native American novelist and an environmentalist Linda Hogan s novel People of the Whale (2008) which explores the matter of brutal exploitation of nonhuman animals for the benefit of human. The indigenous ways of life recognized for worshiping nature and giving respect to nonhuman beings, but in modern world it has been disrupted by people s anthropocentric attitude. This paper will explore with deep ecological perspective the issue of native people s detachment from their cultural values and ecological wisdom and connection with nonhuman world in modern world. Keywords- Deep ecology, Ecocriticism, Environmental ethics, loss of biodiversity, Human and Nonhuman relationship etc 98

2 Linda Hogan is a contemporary Native American poet, playwright, novelist, and environmentalist. She accolades with many prestigious awards like the Chickasaw Nation Hall of Fame in 2007 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas and an American Book Award. Like other Native American writers her works represent the unique spiritual sense of Native American people s deep association with the natural world and their environmental philosophy. Her heart-warming novel People of the Whale (2008) portrays the beauty of the sea life of Pacific North West. The story revolves around the Native American tribe, the A atsika people s sea side village and their old exclusive culture and traditional values. Native Americans are known for their ecological wisdom and their close affinity towards nature but Hogan in this novel painted the miserable picture of contemporary modern world. People of the Whale shows the deterioration of the native people s reverence for the non-human animal and the close connection with the natural world. This paper explores the human- non-human world relationship and the significance of all forms of life with ecocritical approach. In literary scholarship ecocriticism is a field of criticism where the problems of global environmental degradation portrays in critical way. It plays a significant role creating environmental consciousness which is imperative in today s world. The most significant issues in 21 st century is environmental problems such as climate change, global warming, deforestation, natural resource depletion, loss of biodiversity, mass extinction of endangered species and their habitat, pollution of air, water, soil and genetic engineering etc. Ecocritic Laurence Coupe believes in the importance of the relationship between human-nonhuman interconnection and according to him The most important branch of green studies, which considers the relationship between human and non-human life as represented in literary texts and which theorises about the place of literature in the struggle against environmental destruction. (Coupe 14). The term eco criticism was coined in 1978 by William Rueckert in his essay Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism. In this essay he defines ecocriticism as the application of ecology and ecological concepts to the study of literature (Glotfelty & Fromm 107). According to Cheryll Glotfelty ecocriticism is "the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment."(xviii) Deep ecology is one of the important environmental philosophies to understand nature better. Norwegian activist and philosopher Arne Naess first introduce deep ecology as a new worldview or environmental perspective. It rejects anthropocentrism and promotes a totalfield perspective. This new philosophical perspective believes in holistic view of the world, 99

3 understanding the inherent worth of every living being in ecosystem which together function as a whole. Deep ecology provides ecological wisdom to understand nature and value all life forms. George Session, another devotee of deep ecology and Naess together briefly outline the principles of deep ecology. In this eight principle they talk about the the flourishing and well-being of non-human life on earth (Session 68) also human s excessive interference with the non-human world and its worsening situation is a serious concern for deep ecologist. In the novel People of the Whale Linda Hogan beautifully portrayed human and non-human relationship and enlighten the modern predicament of Native American loss of cultural values and deep respect for non-human animal. The novel revolves around the central character Thomas Witka Just s life. His Vietnamese war experience which is always haunts him and it reminds him of killing mass people, destroying life, and the natural world. Thomas lives away from family and friends at the same gray hut on the rocks where his grandfather Witka used to live long before. His reminiscence of his grandfather reminds him of his dreams of becoming a great whale hunter like Witka. But he is a lost soul now; this war experience changed his life s direction. He is trying to escape from the memory of violence and chaos he had faced at war but wherever he is going his past and guilt of killing life is not leaving him alone. Ruth, his wife waited for him every day to come home but he did not come back. One day, the day of whale hunting, his sudden presence make them all believe that he is alive. It was the time in the year of 1988 where there is a rumour around the tribe about a plot to kill a whale. Ruth along with the elders is against the whale hunt because it is only for money purpose. She exposed to the media that whale hunting is only for money. She stands against the council which is a group of people of Thomas s old war friends. They made a contact with some businessmen who deal with whales flesh. Ruth s environmental consciousness and ecological sensibility towards the natural world reflects in her awareness about this grave situation about whale-business. She tried to inform the media the real fact that there are fewer whales and it is not suitable for hunting. But majority of the people in tribe stayed silent except Ruth and her mother. When Thomas came to know about this whale hunting he wanted to join this mission and wish to get back his old traditional way of life. As in their earlier tradition whale hunting is a custom to sing and plead to the whale so they can offer themselves for the people who are starving for food. They used to sing like this Look how we are surfing. Take pity on us. Our people are small. We are hungry. (Hogan 21). Here the human non-human relationship is strong and mutual. Earlier native people used to hunt for vital thing to feed their people. But now at present, in the name of whale hunting, people are 100

4 making business out of this sacred ritual. Underneath there is conspiracy which Thomas did not understand. He was not aware of the business deal with the foreign country. The ignorance and indifference towards environment can be trace in modern Native American people s attitude. Though there are a few whales left in the sea but people want to hunt and sell to businessmen. It is against their traditional way of living. At present people s anthropocentric attitude disrupting the non-human world. Earlier native people used to worship nature and they consider Whale, Octopus and other living creatures as a sacred being, part of nature. Earlier they used to hunt to fulfil their vital needs and give reverence to Nature and maintained the biological diversity. In deep ecology principle, Humans have no rights to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital needs. (Sessions 68) But people s greed and loss of respect for nature creates loss of biodiversity and species extinction which become a serious environmental issue on earth. On the day of whale hunting, Thomas agreed without knowing the real intention behind this whale hunting. Marco has the special sense of listening to the whale; on the day of the hunt he felt that the coming whale towards their boat is very small and it was not good time to kill that whale. But nobody listen to him. Thomas shoots the whale and all his traumatic experience of war comes back to him. After they killed that whale they carelessly left it on the beach and went to see football match. Earlier it was not like that. They never showed disrespect to whales. Thomas realised that they lost their traditional value. The terrible situation of the present situation is uttered by a native man named Feather who recalled the days when people called out lovingly, bringing the whale in, promising to care for it and treat it with respect, to inflict the least pain, and to use it all to save themselves from hunger. (Hogan 88) There is a huge difference in whale hunting in present time and the past. Now the men seemed to have lost their hearts and the women who still had them were against the hunters and the division was a desolate thing for a tribe, whose purpose was to be One. (89) Hogan sympathetically tells the native people s loss of old traditional values and the sense of oneness with nature and their community. In the novel the beautiful Prologue sets the magical tune of the ancient old world charm where there is a beautiful description of sea life and whales, and the old revered man Witka, who can enter into the cold sea and used to hold his breath for long periods of time in search for the whales. He was the last of a line of traditional men who loved and visited the whales to ensure a good whale hunt, along with his friends (Hogan18). The native people s deep respect and love for the ocean can be trace in this line: 101

5 We live on the ocean. The ocean is a great being. The tribe has song about the ocean, songs to the ocean. It is a place where people s eyes move horizontally because they watch the long, wide sea flow into infinity (Hogan9). There are the spiritual connections with the whale while women sing for them to come to the land and hearing the sweet voice of the women one of them might listen and offer itself to her people. When they hunted the women would be quiet the whole time the men were out. Everyone had to be pure in heart and mind. By then the whale would be coming gladly toward the village. (Hogan 22) They consider ocean as a living being and the whales are holy creatures The whales have always been loved and watched, their spumes of breathe blowing above water, their bodies turning, rising. (Hogan 10) The descriptions of whale show how happy they were in earlier time when peoples interference was less and not business minded. According to deep ecology s fifth basic principle the present human interference with the non-human world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening. (Sessions 68) For this reason deep ecologist demands a new worldview where every living being has equal value on earth. They promote the ecocentric or biocentric view. Ecocentrism believes in nature-centred system of values as opposed to human centred (anthropocentrism). According to bio-centric outlook, all species have inherent value, and humans are not "superior" in a moral or ethical sense. Paul Taylor one of the major early proponents of biocentrism, states that biocentrism is an "attitude of respect for nature". According to him: Environmental ethics is concerned with the moral relations that hold between humans and the natural world. The ethical principles governing those relations determine our duties, obligations, and responsibilities with regard to the Earth's natural environment and all the animals and plants that inhabit it (Taylor3). Here in this novel Hogan beautifully captures the native people s struggle to save their old traditional values. People s excessive dominance and interference creates disharmony in natural world and the non-human world. Native American old traditional values are connected with some deep ecological perspective but our modern contemporary world is losing these value and respect for the natural world. This paper explores this modern predicament with deep ecological perspective and brings out the environmental values to understand the inherent value of the natural world as a whole

6 References: Coupe, Laurence, Ed. The Green Studies Reader: From Romanticism to Eco criticism. London and New York: Rutledge, Glotfelty, Cheryl and Harold Fromm, Ed. The Ecocritical Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology. Athens: university of Georgia press, Hogan, Linda, People of the Whale. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Naess, Arne. The Deep Ecological Movement: Some Philosophical Aspects. Deep Ecology for the 21 st Century. Ed. George Sessions. Boston & London: Shambala, Taylor, Paul W. "The Ethics of Respect for Nature." Environmental Ethics. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, Print 103