Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
FORUM FOR WORLD LITERATURE STUDIES, sa.1, ss.123-140, 2024 (ESCI)
This paper intends to deal with Gun Island by Amitav Ghosh by focusing on the consequences of anthropogenic environmental degradation which leaves deep scars on members of both human and non-human worlds. Basing the theoretical framework on the term environmental refugee, which is also referred as climate refugee or eco-migrant, the study focuses on how environmental derangement turns into a push factor in migration. Presenting the ecological mishaps arising not only in the Sundarbans but also in Los Angeles, Venice, and Rome as reflected in the novel, this study claims that as environmental degradation ultimately results in either internal or external migration, it is not a local but a global issue threatening the entire universe. To this end, firstly the study attempts to establish the conceptual underpinnings of environmental refugee as a term primarily because it is a topic which has been neglected legally and does not have an accurate definition. Then, it examines how environmental disruption and disasters leave human beings and animals with no choice but to flee from their traditional habitats. As such, the study analyses the novel's text as a research methodology in order to present how environmental degradation leads living beings to migrate as it is conveyed through its human and animal characters and plot.