Disaster and Hope in the Comic Universe of 'Gardening in the Tropics'

Author

Molly Mosher, CUNY City CollegeFollow

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Department

English

First Advisor

Emily Raboteau

Second Advisor

Vaclav Paris

Keywords

tragedy, comedy, poetry, ecocriticism, the Caribbean, disaster

Abstract

In this paper, I explore ideas of dominion and how Western canon has helped propagate ideas of human domination of the natural world. Using Joseph W. Meeker’s The Comedy of Survival, I trace a line from the advent of the literary tragedy to the climate crisis. To contrast, I use his idea of comedy as the antidote to domination — a way of thinking that might inspire collaboration with the natural world. I will explore the comic with, predominately, Olive Senior’s Gardening in the Tropics, alongside Jamaica Kincaid’s gardening studies and Mona Lisa Saloy’s essay on environmental destruction. To conclude, I consider how the comic style might help mitigate the worst effects of the climate crisis, if humanity — specifically the small percentage of folks who do the bulk of the consuming — should choose to adopt this mindset.

Recommended Citation

Mosher, Molly, "Disaster and Hope in the Comic Universe of 'Gardening in the Tropics'" (2021). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/909