Eco-Critical Analysis

Like feminism and Marxism, eco-criticism examines power relations but it does so from the perspective of our natural environment and the impact humanity is having on it.

Eco-criticism

Eco-criticism is a relatively new way of examining texts, emerging from the Green movement which began to organise politically in the 1980s.
Like feminism and Marxism, eco-criticism examines power relations but it does so from the perspective of our natural environment and the impact humanity is having on it.

Connection

The following ideas are central tenets of eco-critical thinking:
- 1. “Everything is connected to everything else” and eco-criticism should explore how nature and humanity are interconnected.

Contrast

1. Early forms of nature writing (e.g. the pastoral tradition of the 16th and 17th centuries) would contrast rural and urban life, associating the countryside with innocence and the town or city with corruption.

Realities of the countryside

1. More modern criticism (the post-pastoral tradition) considers earlier ideas of the pastoral as being “false” or “escapist” in that they hide or cover over the realities of the countryside.
E.g. the unequal power relations between landowner and labourer

Exploitation

1. The exploitation of the planet is connected to the traditional exploitation of women and minorities – eco-feminism.

Eco-critical considerations

As a result, eco-critical approaches to literature may include:
- Exploring how nature (or the wild, or the city) is represented in a text.
- Examining how a writer creates and uses settings.
- Analysing the imagery used to describe nature.
- Considering if men and women write about nature differently.

1Introduction

1.1Introductions

1.1.1Author

1.1.2Historical Context

1.1.3Setting

1.1.4Social Issues

2Act One

2.1Key Events

2.1.1Staging

2.1.2Key Events 1&2

2.1.3Key Events 3&4

2.1.4Key Events 5&6

2.1.5Key Events 7&8

2.1.6Key Events 9&10

2.1.7Key Events 11&12

2.2Key Themes & Literary Techniques

2.2.1Foreshadowing, Flashbacks, Settings

2.2.2Family, Reality, Fantasy

3Act Two

3.1Key Events

3.1.1Key Events 1&2

3.1.2Key Events 3&4

3.1.3Key Events 5&6

3.1.4Key Events 7&8

3.1.5Key Events 9&10

3.2Key Themes & Links

3.2.1Pride

3.2.2Metaphor

3.2.3Self-Realisation

4Extended Passage Analysis

4.1Act One

4.1.1Staging

4.1.2The Woman

4.2Act Two

4.2.1In Howard’s Office

4.2.2The Final Confrontation

4.2.3The Requiem

5Character Profiles

5.1Willy & Linda Loman

5.1.1Willy Loman

5.1.2Linda Loman

5.2Biff & Happy Loman

5.2.1Biff Loman

5.2.2Biff's Relationship with Willy

5.2.3Happy Loman

5.3Other Characters

5.3.1Uncle Ben

5.3.2Charley

5.3.3Bernard

6Key Themes

6.1Concepts

6.1.1The American Dream

6.1.2Fathers & Sons

6.1.3Nature & the City

6.1.4Success

6.1.5Men & Women

7Writing Techniques

7.1Structure

7.1.1Act One

7.1.2Act Two

7.2Realism

7.2.1Introduction

7.2.2Staging

7.2.3Language

7.3Expressionism

7.3.1Introduction

7.3.2Staging

7.3.3Music

7.4Symbolism

7.4.1The Garden / Seeds

7.4.2Diamonds

7.4.3Alaska & Africa

7.5Motifs

7.5.1Introduction

7.5.2Cars

7.5.3Silk Stockings

7.5.4Money

7.5.5Mythological Figures

8Historical Context

8.1Historical Context

8.1.1Miller’s Family & The Great Depression

8.1.2America’s Recovery

9Literary Context

9.1Tragedy

9.1.1Introduction

9.2Applying Tragic Concepts

9.2.1The Tragic Hero

9.2.2The Tragic Flaw

9.2.3Recognition

9.2.4Emotional Release

9.2.5Chaos & Disorder

9.2.6Revenge

9.2.7Inevitability

10Critical Debates

10.1Introduction

10.1.1Introduction

10.2The Marxist Reading

10.2.1Marxist Analysis

10.2.2The Marxist Reading

10.3The Feminist Reading

10.3.1Feminist Analysis

10.3.2The Feminist Reading

10.4The Eco-Critical Reading

10.4.1Eco-Critical Analysis

10.4.2The Eco-Critical Reading

10.4.3Post-pastoral

10.5Other Debates

10.5.1The Play as Tragedy

10.5.2The Critics

11Recap: Main Quotes

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