The Drowned World Analysis
The Day After TomorrowContext
James Graham “J.G.” Ballard who lived from November 15th, 1930, to April 19th, 2009, was an English novelist, short story writer, and essayist. Ballard started off his career with the creation of various apocalyptic novels such as The Drowned World (1962), The Burning World (1964), and The Crystal World (1966). The Drowned World (1962) is considered to be the spark of the climate fiction genre; a genre of literature that focuses entirely on the results of climate change. Unlike most science fiction genres, climate fiction has no preference of when or where the events of a story take place; the stories can be of the future or the past. The context and subject matters are the determining factors that deem The Drowned World to be an ecohorror novel under the climate fiction genre.
Themes
Humanity vs. Nature
The Drowned World is a novel about humans trying to survive in an uninhabitable planet caused by heightened solar radiation. The novel asserts that humans are ultimately at the mercy of nature's course and humanity must ultimately accept the fact that humans are helpless in the fight against nature. This is the novel’s central theme and plays the biggest role in the ecohorror plot as well as acting as the main source of conflict in the lives of the characters as mixed emotions stem from the condition of the environment. The story takes place in London on a part of Earth that is rapidly changing because of increasing solar radiation and the massive wildlife that disturb humanity. Although the idea of nature changing contributes to the conflicts between characters in the novel, the main conflict concerns the ways that humanity must adapt to the hostility of the environment. The novel displays the struggle of humanity to keep on living and adapting to a planet whose environment seems to be completely uninhabitable by humanity.
The Inevitable
Humanity finds itself at a conflict where the discussion of the human way of life is the main point of conflict: there are characters, such as Dr. Kerans and Dr. Bodkin that resist to the idea of human migration to avoid the effects associated with the change. On the other hand, Strangman struggles to grasp the viewpoints of Kerans and Bodkin and believes that humanity migrating is the best course of action. The conflicting viewpoints found throughout the novel drives the novel forward and drives the actions of the characters to the point that regardless of perspective, the circumstances of the situation may cause the landscape of humanity to alter physically and psychologically in ways unseen.
Scientists in this novel begin to rid the relevance of science as they begin to see evidence of thriving humanity decreasing significantly in the midst of increasing events of nightmares and realizations. As the days pass, the inevitable starts to become a reality; a future where humanity continues their thriving dominance as a species starts to fade. Eventually the characters accept that events happening globally are now beyond the scope of their ability to understand. The scientists try to support the idea that humans instinctively know of a time when humans weren't in their current state of dominance to prepare humanity for inevitable, the situations beyond the grasp of humanity.
Adaptability
Sea levels in London have risen immensely, completely submerging the city until drained by the efforts of Strangman. Dr. Kerans and his companion try to accept the "new normal" and because of this, Strangman tries to influence Dr. Kerans and his companions to accept the idea of moving south. The realizations concluded by the characters tie into the idea of the "new normal" as they come to terms with the inevitable, where humanity loses its dominance as a species. On the other hand, Strangman's attempt to regain control of the flooded terrain leads to the praise given to him by other members of the community, which infuriates Dr. Kerans.
Dr. Bodkin chooses to apply hopeful attitude to the situation to maintain Dr. Keran's belief against Strangman. Rather than mourn the changing climate Dr. Bodkin, Kerans, and Beatrice choose to view the world's changes, accept them, and adapt to them as a way of maintaining means in the drowned world as the intolerable heat and bubbling water affects the way of life for humanity. Although Bodkin sees the situation as a form of opportunity, accepting the more reasonable course of action by moving south would display the unwillingness to adapt to adversities faced in this situation. The novel displays the actions of the characters in which they adapt to their environment, although psychologically, the characters drive each other to points of turmoil.
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- The Drowned World Kenyon Johnson