Time and trees: An eco-critical analysis of temporality in Richard powers' the overstory
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Date
2022
Authors
Meintjes, Ananke
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Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
This essay examines the concept of temporality and the ways that it features in and charges Richard Powers’ (2018) novel titled The Overstory. The issue of time represents the ultimate paradox in the minds of numerous researchers engaged in various fields of study and the majority of studies regarding this topic are linked with myopic frameworks that reduce time to a series of “now” and “near-future” moments (Dawson 2014: 285). This essay argues that an immersion in ecological time or ‘deep time’, as depicted in The Overstory (Powers 2018), encourages a crucial understanding of the interconnectedness that exists between humans and the natural world. In order to substantiate its main argument, this essay regards The Overstory (Powers 2018) as a narrative that expands the issue of time to accommodate its more comprehensive construct as temporality and also engages with information regarding temporality, contained in numerous research articles, throughout its contents. In so doing, this essay proves that an anthropocentric immersion in ‘deep time’ via narrative technique, structure, and characters is possible in literature.
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English--University of the Free State, 2022
English--University of the Free State, 2022