Abstract
The current mechanisation of nature and the notion of nature as a consumer item are the main reasons for the dire state of our planet today. The possibility of environmental disasters is currently a relevant topic in scientific as well as literary circles. Rouxnette Meiring addresses these issues in her youth novels Kraak (Crack, own translation) and Snak (Gasp, own translation) (2018). She creates dystopian narratives that depict the degradation of the natural environment and the consequent downfall of civilisation.
With texts such as these, young readers are introduced to current urgent environmental issues as well as to the results of irresponsible human behaviour towards nature. This can cultivate critical thinking and reflection on the human-nature relationship. Meiring also sends a warning to her readers about the results of the abuse of the natural environment. In these texts the danger of the misuse of technology also becomes evident.
A utopian dimension of these two novels and of dystopia in general is the co-depiction of a process of healing and the recovery of the natural environment. Hope is a characteristic of dystopian youth fiction, and this is also the case in Kraak and Snak, where young adult protagonists are portrayed as saviours and change agents in a decaying natural environment where oppressive and prescriptive adult leaders’ rule amounts to a reign of terror. Decisions made and ways of living prescribed by these adults lead to the dire situation the characters of the dystopian world find themselves in. The youths need to escape and create a better future for all.
Young adult dystopian fiction conveys horrific predictions depicting current anxieties and cultural dilemmas in the fictitious representations of the world the youths find themselves in (Ames 2013:4). They are the young saviours who need to overcome their own fears to end an oppressive establishment. They are the ones to identify the errors of their predecessors, to confront these mistakes and find solutions and create new ways to survive. The young adults in dystopian narratives can bring about change in ways that adults have not yet thought of, and above all there is the ever present element of hope (Basu, Broad and Hintz 2013:2).
Dystopian fiction is known for themes such as angst, trauma, suffering and hardship; during recent decades this genre has become very popular among young readers, according to Mallan (2017:16). Mallan also acknowledges the so-called other side of dystopian texts as their “utopian possibility”. This utopian possibility implies that the imagined societies in dystopian fiction are often much worse than what readers experience in their own everyday reality.
Mallan (2017:16) regards the possibilities of a “dystopian social elsewhere” as twofold. On the one hand it offers readers a chance to reflect on their own current existence and to compare that with the fictitious world of the dystopian text. On the other hand, these narratives can also encourage young people to take responsibility for their own lives and for the future of society. This may sound opportunistic and far-fetched, but Bradford, Mallan, Stephens and McCallum (2008:182) declare an optimistic trust in the capabilities of young people to make the right decisions and not to shy away from their responsibilities.
Barendse (2013b:237) also refers to Baccolini’s (2003:130) notion of the hopeful utopian impulse within the dystopia itself. Hope functions effectively within fictional dystopian texts, and the educational value that dystopian narratives can have lies in their possible impact of inducing hope in the reader. This promise of hope can act as a warning; the potentially dystopian future can be prevented from coming into being if our actions change in the here and now (Barendse 2013b:237).
Human (2018:122), in his analysis of Wonderboom (2015) by Lien Botha, also refers to this element of hope, which was absent for years in adult dystopian texts in Afrikaans. Human also discovers in Wonderboom the optimistic belief that things can be different from the hopeless situation that is depicted on the story level. Possibilities for the future and the possibility of hope are also evident in Kraak and Snak.
The publication of dystopian texts for young adults can be seen as a response to environmental degradation and social conflict. The value of reimagining the future and the possibilities it may hold become clear in a study of eco-dystopian fiction.
Often the characters in dystopian fiction for young adults possess a kind of independence. They detect an opportunity to intervene and mediate in taking social action. This is an aspect of the important function of climatic and environmental themes in dystopian texts for young readers, who encounter young characters from a generation which is environmentally more aware. This gives these youths a glimpse of the potential, the opportunities, to change ways of living on earth.
Authors of dystopian fiction probably make use of shock tactics to urge their readers to realise how important a complete reconsideration of political and social issues is. If people do not change, a very dark future awaits humankind (Sigler 1994:148). As a genre dystopian youth fiction focuses on the actions of humans, and it comments on a rising dependence on technology. Emphasis is placed on environmental issues such as climate change and the extinction of species. The will to ensure survival (of both humans and the natural environment) is stressed. By reading dystopian fiction the young reader may eventually come to the realisation of the fact that humans cannot survive without nature – that we need each other in an underlying, deep co-dependency and entanglement.
According to Buell, Heise and Thornber (2011:418), fiction texts offer “outside-the-box thought experiments; [and] unique resources for activating concern and creative thinking about the planet’s environmental future”. This potential in dystopian youth literature can create a higher level of consciousness and caring in the young reader. Young adults find themselves on the threshold of adulthood and the grown-up world. They experiment with aspects of their lives in ways that lead to character development, such as a growing eco-consciousness (Buell et al. 2011:418). This kind of consciousness is being imagined by proxy in young adult dystopian texts, where the protagonists’ environmental identities undergo a change. Dror (2014:9) posits that the environment is an important part of the dystopian novel and often this results in challenging a presupposed perspective in ways that urge the young adult towards eco-consciousness.
In this article I explored Kraak and Snak through an ecocritical lens and for this purpose I consulted overview articles. These include articles by Oppermann (2008), Garrard (2004, 2008 and 2010) and Heise (2006). Broad and Hintz’s (2013) notions on dystopian literature were also incorporated. I examined the two novels as examples of eco-dystopian texts, drawing on the theoretical frameworks of ecocriticism and dystopian literature. I examined the representation of the environment (natural as well as developed) in the texts. Nature and technology are both important elements in the two novels; I therefore also focused on the depiction of technology and the interaction between the young adult protagonists, the environment and technology.
Relevant research questions were: (1) What are the characteristics of the eco-dystopian youth novel and how do they fit within the broader framework of dystopian literature? (2) How do eco-dystopian texts for young adults fit into the framework of ecocriticism? (3) Can Kraak and Snak be considered good examples of this genre? (4) What is the potential of Kraak and Snak (and of eco-dystopian youth texts in general) to impel the teenage reader to reflect on ecological issues and to cultivate an eco-consciousness?
In Kraak and Snak an imaginary world is depicted that is more terrifying than ever before. They depict not only a loss of personal freedom, but also the struggle to survive in unknown and strange circumstances. These anxieties and dangers embedded in youth fiction have shifted from the local, from the individual, to the global (Laakso et al. 2019:209). Young adult dystopian fiction reflects societies’ fears and worries, especially on issues related to environmental degradation and the associated risks and social inequalities (Laakso et al. 2019:209).
As a popular genre young adult dystopian fiction presents a pessimistic, dark view of the future, but this is done to stimulate hope and issue a challenge to the reader to learn more about the cruel realities and consequences of social evils. It offers the chance to examine and evaluate these possible future disasters and to reflect on the consequences of human actions and/or their interaction with one another and with nature. In this analysis of Kraak and Snak I focused on environmental issues and the degradation of the natural environment. These texts depict an important imagined future for our planet and of Africa in particular. It is necessary that young adults be introduced to texts such as these, not only as a good read, but also because they offer a stark warning about our relationship with the environment. A warning filled with hope.
Keywords: dystopia; dystopian; ecocriticism; eco-dystopias; environment; human-nature relationship; technology; utopia; youth texts
Lees die volledige artikel in Afrikaans
"Ons gaan weer nuut begin": Kraak en Snak (2018) deur Rouxnette Meiring as ekodistopiese jeugverhale