Sophie's Annotated Bibliography on Ecocriticism and The Handmaid's Tale

Working Annotated Bibliography: The Handmaid's Tale

Through researching The Handmaid's Tale, I have found that an ecocriticial analysis of this seemingly unenvironmnetal novel is not all that far-fetched. There are a few scholarly essays out there analyzing The Handmaid’s Tale in a similar way, bolstering my argument and providing some good quotes and ideas to expand on. I also have enjoyed researching historical sources since they provide very interesting insight into the context surrounding Atwood when she was writing, and I hope to find more of these sources in subsequent research.

1. [newspaper found through library database/proquest]

"Environment Canada Reports One Acidic Rainfall Last Week: [FINAL Edition]." The Gazette, 1985, p. A.2. Global Newsstream. Web. <https://search-proquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/431229881?accountid=4488>.

This is a straightforward news article that reports an acid rainfall in Canada in 1985. At this time, worries about pollution and toxic waste were at an all time high, and the world was beginning to see the consequences of human behavior. Margaret Atwood was especially interested in the impact of human pollution and waste on the environment, and knowing that almost fiction-like events were taking place at the time Atwood was writing The Handmaid’s Tale underscores the environmental aspect of the book.

2. [e-book found through HBLL] Joshua, Suka. “An Ecocritical Investigation of Margaret Atwood’s Futuristic Novels.” Essays in Ecocriticism edited by Nirmal Selvamony, Nirmaldasan, Rayson Alex, Sarup & Sons, 2007, pp. 207-215. As the name implies, this e-book was a compilation of essays analyzing works of literature through an ecocritical lens. The essay that I focused on was an ecocritical investigation into Margaret Atwood’s novels, including The Handmaid’s Tale, making it an extremely helpful source for my essay.

3. [article found through LION database) Hooker, Deborah. "(Fl)Orality, Gender, and the Environmental Ethos of Atwood's the Handmaid's Tale." Twentieth Century Literature 52.3 (2006): 275-0_6. Literature Online. Web. This scholarly article analyzes The Handmaid’s Tale from an ecofeminist lens, focusing on Atwood’s descriptions of flowers and nature. Although this was not the focus of my paper, some of the points made in the article were very helpful to understand how one reads The Handmaid’s Tale ecocritically, and I was able to establish a broader understanding of ecocriticism.

4. [dissertation/electronic thesis from Gale Literature Database]

Ketterer, David. "Margaret Atwood's the Handmaid's Tale: A Contextual Dystopia." ScienceFiction Studies 16 (1989): 209-17. Gale Literature Criticism; Gale. Web.

Although this essay is not focused on the ecocritical aspects of The Handmaid’s Tale, it explains the context surrounding the writing of the book as well as in the book itself. Since ecocriticism lends itself well to setting and historicism, this essay was very helpful in establishing an understanding of the context surrounding The Handmaid’s Tale and how I can relate it to ecocriticism.  

5. [non-textual source (image) found through Google Images]

This image is from season 2 of the Hulu adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale. It is of a woman in the Colonies, a toxic wasteland where infertile/disobedient handmaids are sent to dispose of bodies and clean up pollution. She is wearing a gas mask because the air is so toxic and full of chemicals, making the Colonies uninhabitable and lethal. This exhibits the destruction of nature that Atwood illustrates in The Handmaid’s Tale on a visual level. 

 

James' Annotated Bibliography on Frankenstein

There was a lot to sift through when trying to find sources for Frankenstein because there has been a lot written on it. However, I didn't really find anything that was trying to make a claim similar to mine. Most of the stuff I found was useful primarily for the sake of setting up my argument. The most useful thing was Shelley talking about her own work.

[Shelley's Introduction to the 3rd Edition of her novel: I found this because it was referenced in a scholarly article about Frankenstein.]
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus. 3rd ed., Server, Francis, & Co., 1869.
I might use the intro to the 3rd edition because Mary Shelley says some very interesting things about her own novel that could pretty easily be used to demonstrate the nature/science conflict in the novel. 

[Magazine entry: found by doing a search on JSTOR]
Griffin, Michael, and Nicole Lobdell. “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Science Fiction at 200.” Science Fiction Studies, July 2017, pp. 408–409.
This is actually an in-magazine ad asking critics to write essays about Frankenstein for a scholarly magazine. I could use this as an example of how Frankenstein has come to be considered a deeply science-fiction work, even though science-fiction didn't exist back when it was written. 

[Scholarly Article: found on JSTOR]
Butler, Marylin. “Frankenstein and Radical Science.” The Times Literary Supplement, 1972, https://sta.rl.talis.com/items/FCB4F851-A392-F944-645D-C0C758E48BA1.html.
This is a good example of a more traditional, older reading of Frankenstein. I would probably use this mostly as a means of contrasting it against my own argument. 

[Map: found on HBLL website]
Beattie, William, and Thomas Starling. “Carte Physique Et routière De La Suisse A Map of Switzerland: Compiled from the Last Editions of ‘Kellers Carte routière’, ‘Carte Physique Et routière De La Suisse’, ‘Atlas Universel 1835’ and Other Standard Authorities: the Whole Carefully Examined and Corrected up to the Present Time.” Carte Physique Et routière De La Suisse A Map of Switzerland: Compiled from the Last Editions of "Kellers Carte routière", "Carte Physique Et routière De La Suisse", "Atlas Universel 1835" and Other Standard Authorities: the Whole Carefully Examined and Corrected up to the Present Time, George Virtue, 1836.
This is a map of Switzerland that I found on the HBLL website. It was made close to the time Frankenstein was written, and is a good way of looking at the setting of Frankenstein.

[Online article about ecocriticism: found via google search]
"Ecocriticism and Nineteenth-Century Literature." Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, edited by Russel Whitaker, vol. 140, Gale, 2004. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link-gale-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/apps/doc/H1410001135/LitRC?u=byuprovo&sid=LitRC&xid=2bd9b29e. Accessed 20 Mar. 2020.
This is a general, generic article about ecocriticism. I could use this to define ecocriticism to set up my essay. 

Matt's Annotated Bibliography on The Road

Working Annotated Bibliography: The Road

My researched has introduced me to new themes and ideas revolving around The Road. One of these main points is the symbolism throughout the book. Many scholars agree that cannibalism symbolizes over consumption in today's world. This got my thinking a lot about today's consumerism and future affects it can have on the world. For my next research session, I will focus on other potential symbols in The Road. 

[online journal article found on LION]

Estes, Andrew, Cannibalism and Other Transgressions of the Human in The Road, European Journal of American Studies, 2017, 

Wright, Laura. "Vegans, Zombies, and Eco-Apocalypse: McCarthy's The Road and Atwood's Year of the Flood." Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, vol. 22, no. 3, 2013, pp. 507-524. Oxford Academic, https://doi.org/10.1093/isle/isu096

This article focuses on greed and over consumption. It makes the case that this is the disaster that ruined the world. It defines people who eat other people as zombies, which is an interesting idea. This will help me draw conclusions about cannibalism and its connection to over consumption.

[online journal article found using BYU database]

Estes, Andrew. "Cannibalism and Other Transgressions of the Human in The Road." European Journal of American Studies,' 2017, pp. 1-8. Directory of Open Access Journals, https://doi.org/10.4000/ejas.12368

This article also considers cannibalism as a way to symbolize consumerism. However, this article gives a brief history of cannibalism which could be useful in future writing. 

[audio found using BYU database]

Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road.' All Things Considered, NPR, 7 Nov. 2006, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6449817?storyId=6449817 

This audio clip focuses on McCarthy's genius use of language. This could be used in my research by demonstrating the language used in symbolizing cannibalism as consumerism was purposeful.

[online journal article found on JSTOR]

Huebert, David. “Eating and Mourning the Corpse of the World: Ecological Cannibalism and Elegiac Protomourning in Cormac McCarthy's The Road.” The Cormac McCarthy Journal, vol. 15, no. 1, 2017, pp. 66–87. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/cormmccaj.15.1.0066

This one focuses on cannibalism as well, but in a different light. It focuses on ecological cannibalism. In my research I could focus on the different kinds of cannibalism seen in The Road. 

[online journal article found using BYU database]

Bruyn, Ben De. "Borrowed Time, Borrowed World and Borrowed Eyes: Care, Ruin and Vision in McCarthy's The Road and Harrison's Ecocriticism." English Studies, vol. 91, no. 7, 2010, pp. 776-879. Taylor and Francis Online, https://doi.org/10.1080/0013838X.2010.518045

This article focuses on mechanical consumption as opposed to other kinds of consumption brought up in my earlier sources. This article warns that if we continue consumerism as it is now, our posterity might end up living in a world as seen in The Road. This could be an interesting approach and a good way to start concluding my paper. 

Caroline's Annotated Bibliography on GOT and Fire and Ice

Working Annotated Bibliography – Fire and Ice & Game of Thrones

I found myself using literary criticism in the contemporary TV show.  I think that for this paper I want to show how literary criticism can be used in pop culture elements and even for less scholarly art forms. I also want to expound upon more on how fire and ice is shown in GOT and how the archetype is seen in more symbols. 

Journal Article from JSTOR

Lange, Horst. “Northrop Frye, ‘Anatomy of Criticism.’” Monatshefte, vol. 95, no. 2, 2003, pp. 318–         324. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30154108. Accessed 18 Mar. 2020.

This source helps explain how literary criticism is important in other disciplines – even when talking about a contemporary TV series.  This phrase stood out most to me:  “As usual, Frye does not define what he means by "science," but we may safely assume that he would rank criticism among the social sciences, and in our current tendency to integrate the study of literature into a study of culture we might very well be sympathetic to Frye's approach.”

Journal Article from JSTOR

Davis, Joseph K. “IMAGE, SYMBOL, AND ARCHETYPE: DEFINITIONS AND     USES.” Interpretations, vol. 16, no. 1, 1985, pp. 26–30. JSTOR,             www.jstor.org/stable/43797844. Accessed 18 Mar. 2020.

Here Joseph is talking about the collective unconscious meaning of the archetype.  I could use this talking about what fire and ice could mean to each individual and how different cultural groups and people might see it differently.  He also talks about how one can use archetypes in literary criticism while also using image and symbolism. 

Song from Game of Thrones Soundtrack

Morris, Maren. “Kingdom of One: For the Throne.” ATV and Universal Music Publishing, 2019.  Spotify.

The show’s playlist is as important to study as the book it is based on.  This song, “Kingdom of One” really explains the plot of the whole series, who is the one who will have the kingdom.  This verse talks about how one might be burning everything they love, so they can be the one in the kingdom.  Robert Frost talks about how one can lose everything they desire by fire. “So you wanna play God? Come on/Is that all you got? Come on/Would you sell your soul? Burn it all/Everything that you love/Finally become second to none/In a kingdom of one.”

Image on Google Images

“Iceland: Fire and Ice”.  PBS.  May 14, 2008.

Iceland is a literal example of fire and ice working against each other.  Some of the most beautiful glaciers are nestled to some of the largest volcanoes.  Both are shaping Iceland together.  This image shows them right next to one another.  Viewers don’t know what is winning or which will conquer in the end.  It leaves the question that is evident in Robert Frost’s poem itself.  It’s a good Segway into the poem itself and discussion into the archetypes and symbolism. 

Article from Entertainment

Peters, Chris. “In Game of Thrones Why Can Summer and Winter Last for Years and Vary in Length?.”        HuffPost, Entertainment, 1 Apr. 2013, www.huffpost.com/entry/in-igame-of-thronesi- why_b_2989879.

Although this one is not as scholarly, it is a fan article with direct quotes from George RR Martin.  GOT is still lacking in more scholarly sources.  This one explains how the seasons are important in the theme.  Summer and Winter are literally both fire and ice and they are symbolically equal to fire and ice and the White Walkers and Dragons.  Both summer and winter rise in power as their leaders do throughout the series.