EssayDirecttions
Animals do a lot of metaphorical work in human culture. In this question, you will consider how a text deals with animals: as metaphors or symbols, as real creatures in the world, or as characters in a human landscape.
Mark Wadman / EAC750 (online)
Essay 2
Worth: 25% of total grade
Description
The final essay is a chance for you to read widely*** outside of the course on an eco-
critical topic or text that interests you. In this essay, you are to write an in-depth eco-critical
analysis. To do this type of analysis, you must combine a conventional literary analysis,
which might consider an element of writing, symbolism, narrative, character, and so on,
with an eco-critical reading, which might focus on a theme of nature, wilderness,
eco-centric thinking, or environmental activism.
As with any English assignment, you must choose specific passages or examples from
the text to analyze. Students are strongly encouraged to consult a dictionary of literary
terms to help them in the literary aspect of the analysis. Using two secondary (research)
sources, you will develop a literary analysis of the text to consider its eco-critical
implications. This requirement means that your Works Cited must contain, at minimum,
three entries (one primary text and two research sources).
In order to get them started on their eco-critical literary analyses, students will choose a
topic from the list provided or create their own essay topic, with approval from the
instructor. Remember, the questions are meant primarily for inspiration. You may tailor
them according to your interests and the research you find. A list of possible texts to write
on will also be provided. You should expect to read between 200 and 300 pages for the
essay.
The essay will be in standard essay format. It must contain the following: a clearly stated
thesis statement, located at the end of the introduction; an introduction and conclusion;
body paragraphs, which each contain separate evidence that supports the thesis; and be
in MLA format (eighth edition), with correct in-text citations and a Works Cited page,
properly formatted.
Instructions
1. Choose an essay topic from the list.
2. Choose ONE piece of eco-literature and read it.
3. Find a minimum of TWO secondary sources, not including a dictionary of literary
terms. The essay must contain quotations from these sources, and they must be
peer reviewed. Consult your college librarian for help finding sources.
4. Write a 1200-word thesis-driven English literature essay.
Requirements
1. Please include your full name and student number in the top left corner of the first
page. (A title page is not required).
2. Essays must be typed, double-spaced, in 12 point font, and in a standard font such
as Times New Roman.
3. Assignments must be free from spelling and grammatical errors and in proper essay
format, including a thesis statement, title, introduction, conclusion, and body
paragraphs.
4. All citations must be in MLA format, and the file must be uploaded in Word format.
Mark Wadman / EAC750 (online)
Essay Topics**
1. Thoreau famously said: “in wildness is the preservation of the world.” Your task in this
question is to consider how the theme of wildness plays out in a particular text*. In contrast
to wilderness, which suggests rugged, remote, landscape free of human activities,
wildness, as Gary Snyder tells us, can be found anywhere: in a dandelion growing in a
crack in the sidewalk; in the drunken adventures of a college student; or in the cultured
bacteria of a cup of yoghurt. How does the theme of wildness work to break down
conceptual barriers between nature and culture, rural and urban, or wilderness and
civilization in the text?
2. Eco-criticism has always had a close relationship to the environmental movement. In
this question, you will consider how the goals, ideals, and actions of environmental
activism are represented in the text. How does the activism depicted in the text fit into (or
not fit into) a particular strand (or strands) of environmental thought (e.g. ecofeminism,
deep ecology, socialist ecology, or environmental justice)?
3. Traditionally, nature writing has been first person writing that reflects on nature, and
which typically draws on some aspect of natural science. Eco-critics have observed that
much nature writing revolves around some type of heightened consciousness about
nature. How does your text deal with themes of awakening, awareness, or connection to
nature?
4. Animals do a lot of metaphorical work in human culture. In this question, you will
consider how a text deals with animals: as metaphors or symbols, as real creatures in the
world, or as characters in a human landscape, for example. What understanding of the
environment do human-animal-nature relations in the text communicate?
5. Part of toxic discourse is the idea that the planet has been completely penetrated by
toxic pollution. Eco-literature dealing with the theme of toxicity seems to employ a wide
range of tactics to cope with this reality, from stark tales of danger to humour to playful
nihilism. How does the strategy (or strategies) employed by the text work to further the
goals of the environmental movement?
6. You many choose to write on any topic of your choice that relates to eco-criticism. Send
a detailed email to the instructor outlining the topic and text that you wish to write about.
You must send your proposal to your instructor for approval two weeks before the due
date.
* The text referred to in each question is the piece of literature you will be analyzing.
** Some texts will lend themselves better to certain questions. Some pre-research may be
necessary to find the right match of text and question.
*** You must read, at minimum, 200 to 300 pages for Essay Two
Mark Wadman / EAC750 (online)
List of Possible Texts
• Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
• Oryx and Crake or Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood
• Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin
• Perfection of the Morning or other works by Sharon Butala
• Other published works by Rachel Carson
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
• Bear by Marian Engel
• Love Medicine or Tracks by Louise Erdrich
• The White Bone by Barbara Gowdy
• Power or other works by Linda Hogan
• She Had Some Horses or other works by Joy Harjo
• Green Grass, Running Water or other works by Thomas King
• A Sand Country Almanac by Aldo Leopold
• Camber or other works by Don McKay
• Never Cry Wolf or other works by Farley Mowat
• Roughing it in the Bush by Susannah Moodie
• My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki
• Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson
• Ceremony or Almanac for the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
• Oil! by Upton Sinclair
• Walden or other works by Henry David Thoreau
• The Backwoods of Canada by Catherine Parr Trail
• Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams
• Fauna by Alissa York
Three important eco-criticism textbooks
The Future of Environmental Criticism (and other works) by Lawrence Buell
Ecocriticism by Greg Garrard
The Ecocriticism Reader edited by Cheryl Glotfelty and Harold Fromm
These textbooks might be helpful supplemental references, but they do not count as a
secondary source. If you consult any of these sources, you must include it in your Works
Cited.
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Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
