earticle

영어

The purpose of this study is to present a new point of view by combining ecocriticism with the study of nature and race in Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!. Earlier ecocriticism revealed two limitations in focusing on ‘nature literature’, which is mainly composed of essays based on the observation of and reflection on nature. First, it was criticized in that it overlooked the social and political relationships implicated in nature, due to its obsession with ‘pure’ nature. Second, earlier ecocriticism’s exclusive concern on nature resulted in reducing its applicability to various literary genres including novels and neglecting various social environments in the analysis. Therefore, there have been recent attempts to introduce gender and race in ecocriticism. Considering such change in ecocriticism, Faulkner’s ecological awareness requires to be reestimated. He shows the recognition that the abuse of other races and the exploitation of nature in the South have the same root in the formation of the Euro-American self through the separation and appropriation of the Others. Thus, this study analyzes Absalom, Absalom! to reveal Faulkner’s ecological ideas. In Absalom, Absalom!, Thomas Sutpen builds his kingdom through the violent exploitation and appropriation of nature and other races. However, Sutpen’s plan inevitably causes his downfall, for it denies the interrelationship of the subject and the Others and separates the two. Faulkner contemplates, through Sutpen’s downfall, the history of violence wherein Southern society had exploited and destroyed nature and other races and reveals the unsustainability of the society that ignores the interrelationship between the subject and nature and other races.