A Study Of The Ecological Thoughts In William Henry Hudson’s Works

William Henry Hudson is one of the prominent representatives in British and American literature on nature in the 19 thcentury.Hudson shows intense love for nature from an early age,and his works focus on nature and human-nature relationship.Hudson devotes himself to expressing the beauty of nature and ecological thoughts in his works which display a strong ecological color.Compared with his contemporaries,Hudson is advanced in ecological thinking.Currently,in the face of the deterioration of the environment,a study of Hudson’s ecological thoughts is of great help for human beings to discard the anthropocentrism,return to nature and reconsider human-nature relationship to propel the exploration of coexistence of man and nature.Based on a close reading of Hudson’s three masterpieces Green Mansions,Far Away and Long Ago and A Little Boy Lost,this thesis attempts to interpret Hudson’s works from the perspective of ecological criticism,and excavate the ecological thoughts embedded in the works.It aims to advocate the harmonious relations between human and nature in the works and arouse people’s ecological consciousness.With a detailed reading of the texts,the thesis sheds light on the ecological ethics,ecological holism and ecological significance embodied in the texts,and criticizes the anti-nature view of anthropocentrism.Firstly,this thesis analyzes Hudson’s childhood experience in nature as well as the impacts of urbanization on him to explore the origin of Hudson’s ecological thoughts.Secondly,it makes a depth-analysis of the ecological thoughts embedded in his works,focusing on the embodiment of Hudson’s green complex,love for animals,desires for returning to nature,attachment to Mother Nature and longing for simple life.Finally,to disclose the terrible consequences of human’s plundering and conquering of nature,the thesis further criticizes anthropocentrism advocated by Christianity,and discloses humans’ endless desires and misuse of science and technology which causes the destruction of natural ecology.Based on the research,the thesis finds that Hudson’s works profoundly manifest the author’s ecological thoughts.Hudson advocates returning to nature and simple life view to achieve the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.At the same time,Hudson is full of praise for ecological holism through the portrayal of Mother Nature.He lays stress on loving nature from the holistic outlook and calls on human beings to value every living species in the ecosystem.Hudson wishes to awaken humans to recover humans’ instinct of returning to nature through his literary works.In addition,Hudson strongly criticizes anthropocentrism,because he thinks anthropocentrism causes the unlimited human desires which accelerate his exploitation of the natural resources.He discloses that human beings ruthlessly conquer and dominate nature and finally trap themselves in the bottomless abyss of trampling on nature under the influence of Christianity;Last but not least,Hudson criticizes the misuse of science and technology which immeasurably destructs the natural ecology,and leads to the terrible consequences of the ecological crisis and species extinction.