In this paper, I explore ideas of dominion and how Western canon has helped propagate ideas of human domination of the natural world. Using Joseph W. Meeker’s The Comedy of Survival, I trace a line from the advent of the literary tragedy to the climate crisis. To contrast, I use his idea of comedy as the antidote to domination — a way of thinking that might inspire collaboration with the natural world. I will explore the comic with, predominately, Olive Senior’s Gardening in the Tropics, alongside Jamaica Kincaid’s gardening studies and Mona Lisa Saloy’s essay on environmental destruction. To conclude, I consider how the comic style might help mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis, if humanity — specifically the small percentage of folks who do the bulk of the consuming — should choose to adopt this mindset.
","abstract_html":"<p>In this paper, I explore ideas of dominion and how Western canon has helped propagate ideas of human domination of the natural world. Using Joseph W. Meeker’s <em>The Comedy of Survival, </em>I trace a line from the advent of the literary tragedy to the climate crisis. To contrast, I use his idea of comedy as the antidote to domination — a way of thinking that might inspire collaboration with the natural world. I will explore the comic with, predominately, Olive Senior’s <em>Gardening in the Tropics</em>, alongside Jamaica Kincaid’s gardening studies and Mona Lisa Saloy’s essay on environmental destruction. To conclude, I consider how the comic style might help mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis, if humanity — specifically the small percentage of folks who do the bulk of the consuming — should choose to adopt this mindset. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mosher, Molly"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Emily Raboteau","Vaclav Paris"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:28Z","subjects":["tragedy","comedy","poetry","ecocriticism","the Caribbean","disaster","Caribbean Languages and Societies","English Language and Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/909","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Emily Raboteau","Vaclav Paris"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mosher, Molly"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-05-07T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["tragedy","comedy","poetry","ecocriticism","the Caribbean","disaster","Caribbean Languages and Societies","English Language and Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/909"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this paper, I explore ideas of dominion and how Western canon has helped propagate ideas of human domination of the natural world. Using Joseph W. Meeker’s The Comedy of Survival, I trace a line from the advent of the literary tragedy to the climate crisis. To contrast, I use his idea of comedy as the antidote to domination — a way of thinking that might inspire collaboration with the natural world. I will explore the comic with, predominately, Olive Senior’s Gardening in the Tropics, alongside Jamaica Kincaid’s gardening studies and Mona Lisa Saloy’s essay on environmental destruction. To conclude, I consider how the comic style might help mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis, if humanity — specifically the small percentage of folks who do the bulk of the consuming — should choose to adopt this mindset.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Disaster and Hope in the Comic Universe of 'Gardening in the Tropics'"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Emily Raboteau","Vaclav Paris"],"dc:creator":["Mosher, Molly"],"dc:date.available":["2021-05-07T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In this paper, I explore ideas of dominion and how Western canon has helped propagate ideas of human domination of the natural world. Using Joseph W. Meeker’s The Comedy of Survival, I trace a line from the advent of the literary tragedy to the climate crisis. To contrast, I use his idea of comedy as the antidote to domination — a way of thinking that might inspire collaboration with the natural world. I will explore the comic with, predominately, Olive Senior’s Gardening in the Tropics, alongside Jamaica Kincaid’s gardening studies and Mona Lisa Saloy’s essay on environmental destruction. To conclude, I consider how the comic style might help mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis, if humanity — specifically the small percentage of folks who do the bulk of the consuming — should choose to adopt this mindset.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/909"],"dc:subject":["tragedy","comedy","poetry","ecocriticism","the Caribbean","disaster","Caribbean Languages and Societies","English Language and Literature"],"dc:title":["Disaster and Hope in the Comic Universe of 'Gardening in the Tropics'"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:57:28Z"}