Surviving the Anthropocene: An econarratological examination of the environmental storyworlds and narrative empathy within Ian McEwan's Solar (2010) and Cormac McCarthy's The Road (2006)

Andersen, Emma Marie Bang ; Eilersen, Rikke Borup

4. term

English, Master

2023

2023-06-07

101 pages

This thesis examines the relationship between narrative and environment in Ian McEwan’s 2010 novel Solar, and Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 novel The Road. First, we will look at how their two different approaches of satire and tragedy are employed to frame the two storyworlds both at the level of discourse and at the level of the storyworld. Second, we will examine how these two modes of persuasion affect the readers and guide them through their emotional responses to the storyworlds and the characters. This will be examined in relation to the era of the Anthropocene and the ways in which they, through their tragic and satirical approaches, may influence the reader’s attitude and behaviour towards climate change. Lastly, there will be a discussion of how the aspects of satire and tragedy create different perceptions of the novels in relation to their depiction of a changing environment and whether or not these perceptions are determined by the reader’s cultural background.

Econarratology ; Narrative empathy ; Tragedie ; Satire ; Klimaforandringer ; Allegori ; Det Antropocæne ; Solar ; The Road ; Ian McEwan ; Cormac McCarthy

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