Naslov
Characters and identity formation: an ecocritical reading of some Italian short stories

Autori
Mihaljević, Nikica

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u zbornicima skupova, cjeloviti rad (in extenso), znanstveni

Skup
7th Annual International Conference on Literature

Mjesto i datum
Atena, Grčka, 09.06.2014. - 12.06.2014

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
identity formation; immigrant literature; Italian literature; ecocriticism

Sažetak
When we speak about the importance and meaning of literature in the contemporary world, we cannot avoid taking into consideration its importance for the sustainability of the contemporary society. Since to live sustainably means to live the fulfilling life in harmony with nature, the ecocriticism studies must be taken into consideration because they point out to the ways in which it is possible to achieve the sustainable community. If we use the ecocritical approach to the analysis of the text, we may examine how different gendered, cultural, or racial background of individuals may influence the way in which the society treats them, resulting in marginalization and rejection of some members considered less important than others, and predomination of the stronger ones. However, the importance of the ecocriticism lies in the fact that, by the means of a literary text, it aims to provide equal life quality for all its members. The illustrative example of the text in which we may analyze the importance of the study of how an individual can, following the example of the balanced relations in nature, try to improve his social situation, we find in the Italian immigrant literature. In the immigrant literature, in the research of their identity, the characters necessarily run into the collective identity of the community to which they are immigrating and, when transferring into the new community, they have to face different obstacles in order to become its members. Therefore, the present article aims to analyze, by using the methodology of ecocriticism, the formation of the individual identity in some short stories by Italian immigrant writers, in which the characters are divided between the two identities, that of the country of origin and that of the society they live in, but in the end they succeed to achieve the balanced relations with other members of that society.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Filologija

POVEZANOST RADA