"That Hateful Prairie Wind": Violence and Ecophobia in Twentieth Century American Gothic

<p>As ecocriticism continues to grow and unfold, ecocritics must continue to define its overall goals. This thesis further defines and exemplifies Simon Estok’s term, “ecophobia,” which refers to fear and contempt of the natural world, as a way of understanding human relationships with the nonhuman world. This thesis also examines ecophobic tendencies of characters in two twentieth century Gothic novels, Toni Morrison’s <em>The Bluest Eye</em> and Truman Capote’s <em>In Cold Blood</em>. American Gothic novels often represent patterns of historical violence. Therefore, analyzing moments of ecophobia within these novels allows me to draw a connection between harmful constructs of nature and human oppression.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Duncan, Jessica

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Caroline Krzakowski

• ecophobia
• violence
• landscape
• place
• gothic
• literature
• american gothic
• twentieth century
• fiction
• nonfiction
• ecocriticism
• toni morrison
• truman capote
• Arts and Humanities

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/78

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.nmu.edu:theses-1095