A Critical Appraisal of the Trope of Wilderness in Red Birds

Authors

  • Syeda Musbat Arooba
  • Muhammad Saleem

Keywords:

• Wilderness • Colonialism • Neocolonialism • Imperialism • Postcolonial Ecocriticism

Abstract

The research in hand endeavors to present a counter-narrative against the much-acclaimed West’s conception of wilderness and seeks to inform the readers with an entirely new conception of wilderness that is in stark contrast to its Euro-American counterpart. The manipulative modes of communication and media hype have kept us blinded to view this trope according to our own geopolitical realities. So, this research is a modest attempt to represent an alternative view of wilderness that inculcates the imperialistic and neo-colonial brutalities in it. The ulterior motives under the garb of wilderness speak of lust to grab the natural resources of far-off lands and to displace the indigenous people in order to make the war mongers’ capitalistic greed prosper with unprecedented speed. For theoretical framework, this research is reliant on William Cronon’s The Trouble with Wilderness alongside Graham Huggan and Hellen Tiffins’ Postcolonial Ecocriticism: Literature, Animals, Environment. This research follows a qualitative research model and uses the technique of textual analysis to explore the desired objectives in Red Birds by Mohammad Hanif.

Author Biography

Syeda Musbat Arooba

The research in hand endeavors to present a counter-narrative against the much-acclaimed West’s conception of wilderness and seeks to inform the readers with an entirely new conception of wilderness that is in stark contrast to its Euro-American counterpart. The manipulative modes of communication and media hype have kept us blinded to view this trope according to our own geopolitical realities. So, this research is a modest attempt to represent an alternative view of wilderness that inculcates the imperialistic and neo-colonial brutalities in it. The ulterior motives under the garb of wilderness speak of lust to grab the natural resources of far-off lands and to displace the indigenous people in order to make the war mongers’ capitalistic greed prosper with unprecedented speed. For theoretical framework, this research is reliant on William Cronon’s The Trouble with Wilderness alongside Graham Huggan and Hellen Tiffins’ Postcolonial Ecocriticism: Literature, Animals, Environment. This research follows a qualitative research model and uses the technique of textual analysis to explore the desired objectives in Red Birds by Mohammad Hanif.

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Published

2022-03-22

How to Cite

Syeda Musbat Arooba, & Muhammad Saleem. (2022). A Critical Appraisal of the Trope of Wilderness in Red Birds. Erevna: Journal of Linguistics and Literature, 5(2), 12-23. Retrieved from https://journals.au.edu.pk/ojserevna/index.php/erevna/article/view/228