Material Subjectivity And Environmental Crisis In Ian McEwan’s Solar

Known as the “National Author” in the UK,Ian Mc Ewan is probably among the most influential in contemporary British literary arena.His works touch on topics like good and evil,violence,and death,which reflect the inner unease,fear,and distortion in human nature in modern society.His peculiar perspective and perception earn him a title“Ian Macabre”.Since the publication of the novel The Child in Time,Mc Ewan’s attention has shifted to ecological topics.Published in 2010,Solar involves not only serious topics such as miscarriage of justice,academic corruption,and the absurd effects of modern propaganda,but also the most pressing topic of the moment—global warming.Under the background of global warming and energy crisis,the novel tells a story of a scientist called Michael Beard and his solar energy research.The time in the novel runs through three periods of Beard’s life,namely 2000,2005,and 2010.From the development of Beard’s energy career and the interaction between humans and non-human nature,Mc Ewan shows his readers a complicated ecological scene where human beings and non-human nature are intertwined.The aim of this thesis is to explore the author’s reflections on the ecological crisis in the Anthropocene by way of analyzing the subjectivity of non-human nature in the novel.Apart from the introduction and conclusion,this thesis consists of three chapters.Introduction gives an overview of Ian Mc Ewan and the relative study,a brief introduction to the theory,and the structure of this thesis.The first chapter focuses on the power of things to examine the influence of food on individuals’ behavior and the ability of residence to construct the individual identity.The environmental denial by the alternative food supporter and the irresponsible scientist living in the messy room aggravate the environmental crisis.Chapter Two starts from the co-emergence of matter and meaning,and analyzes the material discursive reality produced by the penetration of the body boundary between human and human,and between human and non-human nature in the novel.The third chapter centers on the narrative of matters to analyze the story of human tyranny and nature’s revenge told by the landscape.Conclusion summarizes the discussion and argues that in the time of environmental crisis,humans need to rethink their proper place on Earth.Only by emphasizing the importance of non-human nature in the environment and acknowledging the subjectivity of matter,can humanity create a sustainable future together with non-human matters.