Dr. Nibedita Bandyopadhyay

Abstract

Young-adult fiction that addresses several environmental issues can be a valuable resource for environmental pedagogy, raising awareness of anthropogenic ecological calamities. The article, through the lens of ecocriticism, examines young-adult fiction such as the American writer Paolo Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker (2011) to explore how the text deals with different types of environmental degradation, including climate change and global warming, compelling readers to take environmental issues seriously. It also explores how the plundering of natural resources creates existential crises for the marginalised sections of society. This fiction centres on the protagonist, adolescent boy Nailer, who fights against various environmental odds and, in the process, exposes human greed responsible for environmental degradation. Despite being fraught with a dystopian vision of ecological crises, this fiction ends on an optimistic note, leaving a positive impression on young adults’ minds. The text subverts traditional anthropocentrism and its myopic, egocentric privileging of human interests, conceptualising nature only as an inexhaustible resource. The article analyses the importance of studying the environmental dimensions of young-adult fiction in the Anthropocene, as they can foster environmental awareness among youth, helping them understand their responsibility to preserve ecology and environmental justice.