Anthropocene Through The Lens of Richard Powers The Overstory

Abstract

Literature plays a pivotal role in sculpting human life. It empowers the person to obtain, learn, and inspire the society in a better way. The different genres of literature help to explore the authentic concerns encountered by mankind. It narrates beyond the tales of human life and serves as a powerful medium to portray humanity’s most pressing concerns. The most concerning struggle of humans at the present is climate change and its’ consequences. Because of this, slowly, we are entering into the Anthropocene epoch because of the human activities against environment on the earth. This may seem like the problem of the ecologists and environmentalists, but it is also interconnected with the literature of various languages. It is a known fact that on numerous occasions’ literature helps us to explore the complex, multifaceted connections between human existence and the environment. Many times, literature inspires critical reflection, raises awareness, and encourages action. The present paper aims to bring out the environmental issues and repercussions represented in the Richard Powers The Overstory and how American literary works helps in analyzing, predicting, and visualizing the environmental related issues in real life.