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LITR 4368 Literature of the Future 
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Sample answers
for Part 2:
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Heidi Kreeger
The Importance of Being Earnest: Using Literature to Combat Climate
Change NOW
When I think of why literature is so important I think
about the fact that literature has the ability to impact us mentally,
behaviorally, and spiritually. Any time I am asked to give an example of a truly
transformative work of fiction I cite Ishmael by
Daniel Quinn. This novel so greatly impacted my fundamental belief system that I
began a journey of self-reflection and personal responsibility. I was aware of
myself being changed as it was happening and was aware that the learning
occurring was deep-set and morphing long held belief systems. I saw clearly that
this ability for literature to promote deep learning can and should be applied
to our young adults in school today to combat climate change and deal with the
effects thereof. Our children are the ones who will have to deal with climate
change and the loss of natural resources as global populations skyrocket, and
changing minds early is crucial in the development of new behavior patterns.
The story of Ishmael is
one with a strange premise but if you can overcome any discomfort at the
delivery, the lessons gleaned are immeasurable. Ishmael himself is a gorilla who
has gained the ability to communicate with humans telepathically, and seeks a
pupil or disciple to teach how to “save the world”. Greatly condensed, his
message is that humankind was the first species to go against the natural law of
the world: to take only what you need and leave the rest. Instead, humans have
enslaved the earth and all other species for their sole benefit, therefore he
labels most of us “takers” and those in hunter/gatherer societies as well as all
other animals as “leavers”. Ishmael’s arguments related to why humans have
created this “taker” society is the backbone of his philosophy.
Central to his argument is the idea that human ego is a
result of religion, because we have been told for countless generations that not
only Earth but in fact the entire universe was made by God for mankind. His
opinion is that such religious belief has led to the attitude that “If the world
was made for us, then it BELONGS to us and we can do what we damn well please
with it.” (Quinn) It is this one concept which has stayed with me since I read
it, and flipped my ego on its head. Not only had the extent and dysfunction of
human selfishness never occurred to me, but the inevitable problems that would
result hadn't either.
High among that list of problems is climate change and
over population. An example of how Ishmael presents a new way of thinking on
over population is:
At present there are five and a half billion of you here,
and, though millions of you are starving, you’re producing enough food to feed
six billion. And because you’re producing enough food for six billion, it’s a
biological certainty that in three or four years there will be six billion of
you. By that time, however (even though millions of you will still be starving),
you’ll be producing enough food for six and a half billion—which means that in
another three or four years there will be six and a half billion. But by that
time you’ll be producing enough food for seven billion (even though millions of
you will still be starving), which again means that in another three or four
years there will be seven billion of you. In order to halt this process, you
must face the fact that increasing food production doesn’t feed your hungry, it
only fuels your population explosion.
This shows Ishmael looking at a problem on a global
scale, in terms anyone can understand, and from a direction which many people
would not think to look at it. Feeding those who are starving seems like the
logical and humane thing to do but is producing more food the way to do it? I
believe this ability to demonstrate a new way of viewing a problem is integral
to deep learning and to affecting change.
I
have internalized these ideas and many more from Quinn's novel in part because
of the concept of deep learning. Deep learning happens when an idea surpasses
our superficial memory and is connected to neurons in the brain associated with
core values and beliefs, or with our more primitive emotions. For example you
might learn quite a bit about a friend who acted in violation of your core
values, you would certainly remember said action, and you yourself would act
accordingly in your dealings with that person in the future. Or in the case of
primitive emotion, any fear inducing trauma often stays with a person and shapes
behavior for life from nearly drowning to a bug flying into your face.
Quinn’s novel focuses so much on Christianity and other religions because they
and the associated texts have shaped humanity more than anything else. More
people have died, more wars have been waged, more history effected by religion
than from any other cause in human history. And indeed the Bible addresses
population and tells us that God created this world for us when he says "Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Genesis 1:27) The internalization of
this message led to a prevailing zeitgeist through the ages that resources are
infinite. Understanding this belief is essential in understanding what makes
something an ideal candidate for deep learning. The first is that it is a belief
and not a statement of fact, which creates emotional connections, and emotions
always evoke more reaction and remembrance than quantitative thought. But
equally important are the facts behind the belief being empirical and capable of
swaying a mind logically as well.
In order to encourage our students to learn deeply or internalize the facts
about climate change, it is necessary that we also engage their minds with
belief, and in a form they find most pleasing. It is not enough that we provide
data, though there is plenty of scholarly literature on the topic. It is obvious
that when it comes to climate change there is a deeply held belief on the part
of naysayers that mankind is not accelerating it, despite the majority of
scientists agreeing that we are. This is because of both the religious narrative
we have accepted for millennia, and human nature being inherently indulgent and
full of procrastination. Entertainment may be the best way then to impact the
largest amount of young people in a way which can convince them to change
behavior that prioritizes convenience over sustainability.
In the interest of entertainment and if we are trying to “sell” the importance
of change, any advertiser would say the best place to start is to know your
audience. A study was conducted in 2009 to determine which literature was the
most popular among young adults and contemporary realistic fiction took the bulk
with fantasy literature coming in second. (Koss) More than anything it seems, a
young adult reader will gravitate toward literature that is relatable to
himself/herself. Ishmael may not be the best text to bring into a high school
classroom, then, but there are many novels/short stories which address climate
change both directly and indirectly.
“Chocco” is a fabulous short story that recalls “the great warming” that
occurred alongside disease and radiation around a thousand years prior that lead
to the destruction of our current society, the “machine people”. It offers a
look into what an ideal ecotopia could look like and some of the perceived
mistakes that we are currently making that would lead to these apocalyptic
events. It is easy to identify the problems they are describing in the story as
some of the same issues that we are dealing with in the present day. The
limitations of a text like this in the classroom are the same limitations
described in Ishmael when it is said that “I think what you're groping
for is that people need more than to feel scolded, more than to be made to feel
stupid and guilty. They need more than a vision of doom. They need a vision of
the world and of themselves that inspires them.”
Every year more and more applicable environmental novels
are being written and offering new options for teachers, such as the book
Saving the
Planet and Stuff by . It follows sixteen year old Michael in his summer
job “in the office of a well-established environmental magazine while living
with its founders, Walt and Nora…he gets to know Walt and Nora and is drawn into
the office politics that threaten the magazine’s mission” (LibGuides). I thought
this novel would be appealing to young adult readers while addressing climate
change because Michael’s “sometimes sardonic responses to the casual
environmental lectures by Walt and Nora will make the information in them more
palatable to readers” (LibGuides). It offers a relatable main character within
the framework of the contemporary realistic fiction genre while being focused on
environmental issues we are facing today as well as their implications. It is
just one example of a novel which could work for literature teachers in the
future, but it offers the best chance at appealing to students while promoting
deep learning.
Not only do English teachers have an opportunity to
influence young adults into action in regard to climate change, they have a
moral responsibility to do so. The next generation will be left with the
repercussions of our actions environmentally and the least we can do is prepare
them better than we ourselves were prepared. Deep learning through the reading
of literature is the best route to this end I have personally experienced. The
issue with this path is that it requires ample amounts of time and time is
quickly running out if we have any hope of surviving another thousand years.
This is not to say our efforts as teachers will be futile, but rather that they
must be prioritized and passionately conveyed.
Works Cited
“Chocco.” Future Primitive: the New Ecotopias, by
Kim Stanley. Robinson, TOR, 1997.
“Deep Learning.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia
Foundation, 10 May 2019,
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_learning.
Koss, Melanie D., and William H.
Teale. “What's Happening in YA Literature? Trends in Books for Adolescents.” Journal
of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 52, no. 7, 2009, pp. 563–572. JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/20468410.
“LibGuides: Environmental Novels: Juvenile and
Young Adult Fiction.” Juvenile and Young Adult Fiction - Environmental Novels
- LibGuides at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
guides.library.illinois.edu/c.php?g=347864&p=2345360.
Quinn, Daniel. Ishmael: and Adventure of the Mind and
Spirit. Bantam, 1995.
THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW STANDARD VERSION. Bible. Oxf.
U.P.
