Ecological analysis of the story collection «Woe to you if you hurt a bird» of Erfan NazarAhari based on mystical themes
Subject Areas : پژوهشهای ادبیات معاصر ایران
1 - Associate Professor, Department of Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Economist criticism, woe to you if you hurt a bird, Erfan NazarAhari, nature, mysticism.,
Abstract :
Ecological analysis of the story collection
«Woe to you if you hurt a bird»
of Erfan NazarAhari based on mystical themes
Sedigheh Sherkat Moghadam*
In recent years, the issue of environmental protection has been one of the most pressing discussions among scientists, and in the meantime, some authors have directly or indirectly highlighted the importance of this issue in their works. Among the Iranian writers, Erfan NazarAhari has used environmental symbols in his writings in various forms to express his mystical thoughts and implicitly mention the issue of environmental justice. The purpose of this research, using the descriptive-analytical method, is to examine the content and the main theme of the environmental elements of NazrAhari in the book «Woe to you if you hurt a bird» based on the views of ecological criticism. For this purpose, his plant, animal, and natural and eco-centered symbols, which are derived from his spiritual and mystical nature and its connection with nature, are analyzed and examined from the perspective of this approach. The obtained results show that the author of the work is trying to encourage the reader to be friendly and coexist with nature and the environment, which is a reflection of the manifestation of God.
Keywords: Economist criticism, woe to you if you hurt a bird, Erfan NazarAhari, nature, mysticism.
Introduction
The world is threatened by environmental disasters, and the danger of environmental destruction has been heard all over the world. In these circumstances, science and technology alone are not enough to combat the global environmental crisis. Humans must change their culture and attitude towards the world. Literature, as an influential tool, can play an important role in reforming the worldview and the way society views existence. For many years, literary values did not pay attention to nature, and preserving ecosystems had no place in their thoughts. In 1978, he created his critical book titled "Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecological Criticism". This criticism has been discussed as an "emerging global movement" over the past three decades. After that, literary writers have referred to the preservation of nature in various ways in their works. In this regard, ecological criticism refers to the study of the connection between the environment and literature in any form. The influential Iranian writer Erfan NazarAhari has also presented his mystical-Islamic thoughts on the environment to the audience in his works.
Purpose and Necessity of the Research
First, we specify that the purpose of this research is to examine the environmental symbols in the book “Woe to you if you hurt a bird” by Nazar-Ahari and its relationship with eco-critical criticism. For this purpose, we first analyze the environmental applications that include elements in nature, plants, and animals, and then the symbols will be examined from the perspective of eco-critical criticism in his writings, and finally, the connection of his mystical thoughts with nature will be examined. Also, based on this research assumption, addressing environmental issues is considered an important and vital issue in the whole world, and must be addressed. In fact, this movement is an emerging movement all over the world that has been formed as a reaction to the anthropocentric attitude of the majority of societies in dominating nature. Undoubtedly, environmental studies in literature increase readers' attention to the importance of preserving nature and raise their awareness of environmental protection. In addition, ecocriticism can be effective in healing the relationship between humans and nature. Since the environment has become a global issue, literature, as a tool for public awareness, has changed its goal from addressing trivial issues to important and vital issues. We should not forget that humans have only one Earth to live on, and we are on the verge of destroying our future. If you change your way of life, be careful of your blue planet.
Research Questions
By resorting to ecocriticism, we seek to answer these questions:
- What symbols in nature did NazarAhari use to express his mystical thoughts?
- What is the relationship between these symbols and preserving ecosystems?
Research Method
The general research method in this study is descriptive-analytical, based on the qualitative data collection method. The use of the qualitative research method in the present study is because we intend to analyze the content of the literary text based on a comparative approach -ecological criticism- and the data analysis method was carried out as content analysis.
Ecological Criticism
Ecological criticism is an approach that studies literature and ecology from an interdisciplinary perspective. Using this approach, researchers analyze texts in which the authors reflect their environmental concerns and address the subject of nature. This approach was first proposed by Joseph Meeker, an American ecologist with a PhD in comparative literature, under the title "Literary Ecology" in the book "The Comedy of Survival: Studies in Literary Ecology" (1972) In this book, he analyzed literary genres from an ecological perspective. Without using the term “ecocriticism,” he raised questions about ecology and its relationship to literary texts, concluding that comedy, more than tragedy, highlights the ecological relationship between humans and nonhumans.
In 1978, William Rueckert, professor emeritus of English and American literature at the State University of New York, coined the term “ecocriticism.” He borrowed the model of energy circulation from ecology to analyze the relationship between poetry, the poet, and the reader. As Rueckert puts it: “Energy flows from the center of the poet’s language and creative imagination to the poem, and then from the poem (which transforms and holds this energy) to the reader” (Rueckert, 1978: 103–110).
In literature, writers use growth and energy, stability and instability, balance and disequilibrium from the perspective of nature. This approach focuses on the fact that the survival of nature depends on respect for the environment. Ecocriticism emphasizes the sense of responsibility of man towards the environment. Lawrence Buell, as a pioneer of ecocriticism, focuses on the environment and literature. The role of environmental imagination in literature is explored by Buell in Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the Formation of American Culture (1995), to explore the changes that may appear in the interaction between mankind and the environment (Zariyya Habib, 1402: 5). Since the indiscriminate destruction of nature has caused nature to be silenced, Buell was determined to be the voice of nature, believing that: “Nature itself is the oppressed and silent class, and needs a speaker” (ibid.).
Discussion and Conclusion
The present article examines the category of ecosystem in the literary writings of Erfan NazarAhari in the book “Woe to you if you hurt a bird” from the perspective of ecological criticism, and analyzes the place of nature and ecosystem in the creation of his writings in order to show the connection between the environment and literature. He is one of the contemporary Iranian poets who has always been concerned about the environment and has depicted nature and its elements in his writings. NazarAhari has given consistency to the form and content of his works by taking advantage of symbols that are all borrowed from the heart of nature, because these symbols express a concept of a natural phenomenon, and each of these phenomena represents a group of meanings.
One of the characteristics of NazarAhari’s writings is the use of elements of nature and the ecosystem in contrast to anthropocentrism. This characteristic has distinguished his works from other writers. With a little thought in his works, one can feel the fascination with nature. This contemporary writer conveys his ethical and naturalistic messages mixed with mystical thoughts in the form of symbols drawn from the heart of nature to his audience. Her approach to nature, influenced by Islamic mysticism, is based on themes such as the power and role of nature in raising awareness of humans and the elements of nature as a reflection of the manifestation of God, environmental ethics, etc. Part of her writings is dedicated to the mystery and need of insignificant creatures with God. Commentary with this technique points to the equal status of these creatures with humans. It should be noted that this contemporary Iranian writer indirectly emphasizes environmental justice in order to dissuade her reader from the boundless desire to conquer nature. NazarAhari also tries to diminish the sense of superiority of man, who is accustomed to exalting himself over other species living in the biosphere. In the short story “Woe to you if you hurt a bird,” she beautifully makes his audience aware of the dangerous consequences that result from disrespect for nature.
Undoubtedly, from the perspective of environmental justice, man and nature share equally in nature. If humans try to destroy nature, nature will retaliate in turn. Our global crisis is not because of the way ecosystems function, but because our moral and cultural systems have turned to the destruction of nature with an anthropocentric approach. Overcoming the current crisis requires understanding our impact on nature. Reflecting nature in literature and promoting environmental ethics can play a very effective role in raising the level of awareness of readers. As an influential contemporary writer and poet, NazarAhari has attracted a large audience with her linguistic and artistic appeal and has crystallized a sense of love for nature in them.
Since the alarm bells of nature's destruction have been sounded all over the world, it is better for researchers to devote their research to ecological criticism and related fields such as ecofeminism, eco-Marxism, and eco-mysticism.
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* Associate Professor, Department of Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran.
moghadam@atu.ac.ir
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