Climate Catastrophes in the Age of the Anthropocene: A Critical Analysis of Amitav Ghosh’s Gun Island

Abstract

Aims: This paper analyses anthropogenic climate crises depicted by Amitav Ghosh in his novel Gun Island (2019.

Methodology and Approaches: This study analyses Amitav Ghosh's Gun Island (2019) using the concept of the Anthropocene. Using the theoretical paradigms of eminent theorists such as Dipesh Chakrabarty, Timothy Morton, Adam Trexler and Timothy Clark, the paper tries to analyse the gravity of the anthropogenic climate crisis.

Outcome: This article records the climate changes in the Sundarbans. Ghosh portrays the Bhola cyclone affected Sundarbans and the resultant influx of climate refugees. The vulnerability of coastal regions that results in devastating shifts in the marine world are highlighted in the study. Human interventions in the ocean result in the formation of “oceanic dead zones” with a very low oxygen content. Human use of fertilisers can be deciphered as a hyperobject and it results in massive fish kills.

Conclusion and Suggestions: Ghosh’s Gun Island anticipates the climate crisis in the Anthropocene.  By placing humans as mere members of the planet, Ghosh considers all elements of nature in equal terms. This study highlights humans' role in mitigating the climate crisis through characters such as Piya Roy, Lisa and Giacinta Schiavon.