Biophilia in Kiran Desai's Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard

Abstract

Though nature is always a part of literature, biophilic consciousness in reading came only in the twentieth century with the idea of Eco-criticism. Using the theoretical tool of Ecocriticism, this study aims to address the question of how Kiran Desai in her novel, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, spreads biophilia through its main character, Sampath Chawla. Sampath, raised in the age of environmental concern, environmental degradation, escapes from the modern sense of materialism, human’s relationship with nature and others species, and comes in the lap of nature where he gets complete happiness.

Nature provides what he dreams to achieve in life. The orchard provides him shelter, animals become his friends, and nature provides him knowledge, freedom and peace putting forward the urgent need of maintaining harmonious relation between human, animals and nature. His dream of being a part of nature and its preserver is symbolically fulfilled as he leaves the orchard with the monkeys, refusing every offer of his family. The study shows that nature is powerful and human beings have the responsibility of preserving it for their own benefit. Therefore, this thesis reflects on Desai’s environmental concern, her emphasis on the need of preserving, caring and creating it.