Environmental Conflicts In Literature :: essays research papers

Conflicts are a very prominent element in literature. If you were to look up the dictionary definition of conflict, you would find that it is a struggle, controversy, or fight. Conflicts usher out take many forms, and each has its own place in literature. Environmental conflicts are certainly single of the more recognized and comprehended types of conflicts. They are easy to identify, understand, and analyze. An environment can be described as ones surroundings, so logic all in ally, an environmental conflict is a conflict with ones surroundings. Environmental conflicts pit man against a greater causation, and it is unsure what will happen next.Throughout good literature, a vast array of environmental conflicts can be found. Let us take a look at Leiningen Versus the Ants, by Carl Stephenson. In this news report, environmental conflicts are exceedingly prevalent. In fact, the entire story is built upon the act of God that Leiningen faces. A twenty square mile army of ants threa tens Leiningens plantation and his life. The ants prove to be a formidable opponent, tear down for a man of such cunning as Leiningen. They represent the power and unpredictability of naturea perfect example of an environmental conflict.Not all environmental conflicts are huge, apocalyptic, catastrophic events. They can be as simple or commonplace as a tree falling. Such is the case in The Interlopers, by Saki. Saki recognizes the power of nature, and makes use of something so unimportant as a fallen tree to trap Ulrich and Georg beneath it, and dramatically alter the bloodline of the entire story. Not only that, but at the end of the story, Saki uses wolves to change the direction of the story once more, and this time he creates some caustic remark as well. In almost all cases, the environment does triumph over man in some way or another. To Build a Fire, by Jack London is a prime example of this happening to a large extent. A man and his dog are lost in the wilderness at sub-z ero temperatures, and he is not only involved in an environmental conflict, but a struggle to live. Eventually the man dies of hypothermia. Again, this is another instance that illustrates the power that nature has over us.