Exploring the legacy of Resource Exploitation and Environmental Neglect in Paolo Bacigalupi’s Ship Breaker

Abstract

Climate change and its current evolution of global domination shows the over exploitation of natural resources. The neglect of care and preventive measures towards environmental disaster are not found among humans because of the concept of survival and adaptation. The disastrous ecological collapse has its prevailing legacy throughout many generations of human life. The exploration in Bacigalupi’s dystopic science fiction novel Ship Breaker brings out the real struggles of environmental crises. Paolo Bacigalupi, as an American author has given importance to social, political issues along with the devastating climatic issues in his fictious novels. Ship Breaker portrays the work of scavengers, the utility of clipper ships, and child labour exploitations. The failure to protect the environment is noticed in the novel but the characters’ adaptation to survive among the ocean spills mark the specific life of humans. The labour and elite class’ differentiation embarks the legacy rule in scavenging work. The theories of environmental psychology developed by Harold Proshansky, Roger Barker, Kurt Lewin and others categorized an Ecological theory which means that human behaviours are lively in action because of the existing environments. The place and situation make up the personality of humans to utilize environmental power. The core assertion is that environmental legacy is important to determine the historical past of natural surroundings. The current resource exploitations can be overlooked and maintained in the society by categorizing the traditional practices of ancestors. The social insight is that mainstream society should have the acceptance of marginalized groups which will make the evolution of new environmental space creating awareness about the past and future traditions.

Keywords: Environmental disaster, climatic issues, ocean spills, scavengers, marginalized groups