Hyperseparation and Value Dualism: An Ecocritical Analysis of The Hungry Tide

Abstract

The burgeoning gulf between humans and nature is an inevitable corollary of an anthropocentric approach towards nature. It strengthens the illusion of human disembeddedness in nature and conceives their relation in dualistic terms, suggesting their polarised identities. In this way, the human-nature duality enables the domination and exploitation of nature, posing a threat to its integrity and lifesustaining capacity. The paper provides an ecocritical analysis of Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide (2004), drawing on Val Plumwood’s critique of human-nature dualism and employing textual analysis methodology. The excessive divide between humans and nature is used as a tool for colonisation and a view of nature as separate/inferior to humans. This dualistic perspective on nature is a major factor driving the current environmental degradation. Through its setting, the novel reflects that the self-centred approach of power structures in dealing with the unique part of the land of the tide-country has rendered a great blow to the ecological balance of its rare ecosystem. The references to the declining number of keystone species like crabs, which are vital for the existence of the mangrove forests, and Piya’s task to survey the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins present a poor spectacle of aquatic life. It reflects the dominant orders’ (marine life traders, rulers & forest officials) detached perspective on the natural world. The paper attempts to provide an understanding that hyperseparation as an oppressive feature of dualistic thinking underpins the  subjugation and exploitation of the sphere of nature as well as the underprivileged humans associated with  it.
Key Words: ecocriticism, anthropocentrism, hyperseparation, value dualism