J.G. Ballard’s The Burning World: An Eco-dystopian Reading - Dhwani Vachhrajani

The interest and purpose of Postmodern literature have been to predict the condition of natural and human world. Science fiction addresses various environmental issues that need our serious attention. Literature of this kind is evaluated from various Modern theoretical perspectives such as Ecocriticism, Dystopia, Psychoanalysis etc. These perspectives significantly contribute in understanding and analysing Modern and Postmodern literatures. J.G.Ballard, an important name among climate fiction writers, was concerned for human life in the terribly changing natural world. His well-known work The Burning World warns people through presenting situations wherein the possibility of survival is rare. The present paper attempts to analyse Ballard’s The Burning World from the perspective of Eco-dystopia, a subgenre of Ecocriticism. Eco-dystopian analysis would contribute to spreading awareness about our changing environment and need to save our natural resources which, if not saved and nurtured, may lead to a terrible and deadly future. As the title suggests, Ballard imagines a world with scarcity of water, and it is almost burning. How dreadful it is to remain alive in such times, has been predicted and imagined by Ballard. Eco-dystopian reading of the above-mentioned work would contribute both in Ecocritical as well as Dystopian studies.