Exploring Environmental Degradation and Climate Change in Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island

Abstract

Amitav Ghosh's Gun Island (2019) is a work of literary fiction that intricately addresses modern environmental issues, focusing on the effect of climate change and ongoing environmental degradation. Through a mixture of myth, ecological crisis and migration, Ghosh reveals the interconnectedness of human actions and nature, suggesting that understanding the Anthropocene (human age) requires humanity to rethink its place in the world. This article attempts to analyze how Ghosh presents these environmental issues through his narrative-craft, including the use of folklore,  migration resulting from ecological disasters, and the role of non-human agents (nature). Linking myths and current environmental realities,  Ghosh offers a critical commentary on the Anthropocene, the role of capitalism in environmental destruction, and the human displacement resulting from climate change. This review  examines The Gun Island's key environmental themes and sets it into a broader discourse of ecological criticism and climate fiction.

Keywords: Amitav Ghosh, The Gun Island, , climate change, migration, ecological criticism, climate fiction.