My presentation for Ways of Reading 2: Critical Thought & Theory ELCE

1. Eco-criticism
Nicole Neo
Year 2 ELCE
University of Bristol

2. Eco-criticism
● What is eco-criticism?
● Eco-criticism in Frankenstein
● Example of an eco-critical poem: ‘The Dead Crow’ by A.
Samad Said.

3. What is eco-criticism?
● “In recent years, there has been what amounts to an ecological turn in thinking
about literature, a turn that, as we shall argue, has the potential fundamentally
to transform the way we think about literature and about reading.” (Bennett &
Royle Chapter 16)
● “It is a rapidly emerging field of literary study that considers the relationship
that human beings have to the environment.”
(http://ehc.english.ucsb.edu/?page_id=2388)

4. Eco-criticism in Frankenstein
● The monster wasn’t created by Nature in Frankenstein.
● Victor was fascinated with the creation of life.
○ “One of the phenomena which had peculiarly attracted my attention was the structure of the
human frame, and, indeed, any animal endued with life. Whence, I often asked myself, did the
principle of life proceed? It was a bold question, and one which has ever been considered as a
mystery; yet with how many things are we upon the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice
or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.” (Shelley, Frankenstein Chapter 4)
● He wants to transcend the boundaries of life and death by creating life.
○ “ Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a
torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source;
many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the

5. Eco-criticism in Frankenstein
● Victor was grave-robbing parts of corpses to create the Monster.
○ “I collected bones from charnel-houses; and disturbed, with profane fingers, the tremendous
secrets of the human frame. ... The dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of
my materials; and often did my human nature turn with loathing from my occupation, whilst, still
urged on by an eagerness which perpetually increased, I brought my work near to a conclusion.”
(Shelley, Frankenstein Chapter 4)
● His human nature is opposed to his occupation of reanimating death but he
soldiered on, spurned by his eagerness.

6. Eco-criticism in Frankenstein
● Victor was so horrified by the wretched appearance of his creation that he ran
away from it.
○ “I beheld the wretch -- the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the
bed and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered
some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not
hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed down
stairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited; where I remained
during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively,
catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse
to which I had so miserably given life.” (Shelley, Frankenstein Chapter 5)

7. Eco-criticism in Frankenstein
● The Monster kills himself after watching his friend (debatable) and creator,
Victor die.
○ “I shall ascend my funeral pyre triumphantly, and exult in the agony of the torturing .”
○ “How all this will terminate I know not; but I had rather die than return shamefully -- my purpose
unfulfilled. Yet I fear such will be my fate; the men, unsupported by ideas of glory and honour,
can never willingly continue to endure their present hardships.”
○ (Shelley, Frankenstein chapter 24)

8. Example of an eco-critical poem
‘The Dead Crow’
by A. Samad Said

9. ‘The Dead Crow’ by A. Samad Said
He saw a dead crow
in a drain
near the post office.
He saw an old man
gasping for air
and a baby barely able to breathe
in a crowded morning clinic.
This land is so rich.
Why should we suffer like this?
I want clean air
for my grandchildren.
I want the damned fools
to leave the forest alone.
I want the trees to grow,
the rivers run free,
and the earth covered with grass.
Let the politicians plan how we may live with dignity,
now and always.

10. ‘The Dead Crow’ by A. Samad Said
● A. Samad Said is a Malaysian poet and author who writes in both Malay and
English.
● The poem ‘The Dead Crow’ was in the syllabus for the English language subject
in Form 1 (year 7) in Malaysian schools. Many people who went to secondary
school during this period are well-acquainted with the poem.
● Short and simple to understand, the poem is about humans’ damaging effects on
the environment.
● The “dead crow” could have died from being shot or poisoned, eating human
food. All these deaths are unnatural. Overpopulation of crows has caused pest
control to take action and offer bounties for killing crows. The crow population

11. ‘The Dead Crow’ by A. Samad Said
● The “old man gasping for air” and “a baby barely able to breathe” show the
effects of air pollution on vulnerable groups, e.g. babies and the elderly. “In a
crowded morning clinic” shows the large numbers of groups affected by the air
pollution among other ailments.
● The poet wants the earth preserved for the next generation “I want clean air for
my grandchildren”.
● “I want the damned fools to leave the forest alone” the harsh language here
shows that those involved deforesting are foolish.
● The main cause of air pollution in this poem may be the haze that blankets the
country one month in a year from forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia.

12. ‘The Dead Crow’ by A. Samad Said
● The global demand for palm oil has caused mass deforestation in neighbouring
Indonesia. Forests are burned in order to rapidly clear them and in place,
profitable oil palm trees are grown. Smoke from these forest fires are
suspended in the air and drifts across to neighbouring countries.
○ The haze usually measures hundreds of kilometres across. It has spread to Malaysia, Singapore, the south of
Thailand and the Philippines, causing a significant deterioration in air quality.
○ This year it has been blamed for deaths in Indonesia and respiratory illnesses in around 500,000 people,
according to the government.
○ Elsewhere it has prompted school closures, flight cancellations and virtual shutdowns of towns and cities.
○ “What causes South East Asia’s haze?” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-34265922

13. ‘The Dead Crow’ by A. Samad Said
● “I want the trees to grow, the rivers run free, and the earth covered with
grass.” The poet wants trees to be left alone, the rivers free of rubbish and
pollution and grass covering the earth instead of concrete.

14. ‘The Dead Crow’ by A. Samad Said
● The poet calls upon politicians to take action. “Let the politicians plan how we
may live with dignity, now and always.” In 2015, the poet himself has entered
politics and hopes to make a difference. (‘Pak Samad explains why he believes in
DAP’, The Sun, 21 July 2015)
● In Bennett & Royle Chapter 16, “writers and critics, as writers and critics, can
do little or nothing to prevent or resolve problems of global warming, over-
fishing, widespread pollution, the destruction on epic scale of animal and plant
habitats, mass extinction of species along with human-engineered ecological
disasters in all forms – to prevent what Martin Amis starkly sums up as the
‘toiletisation of the planet’.