Ecocritical Insights Into Hullabaloo In The Guava Orchard: Exploring Environmental Symbolism And Ecological Awareness

Abstract

This paper explores Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai through an ecocritical lens, uncovering the layers of environmental symbolism and ecological consciousness interwoven in the narrative. While the novel is widely recognized for its satirical commentary on Indian society and postcolonial absurdities, this study foregrounds its ecological dimensions, emphasizing the relevance of nature in shaping the protagonist’s transformation and the broader narrative structure. The research addresses growing ecological detachment in modern society, analyzing how literary fiction, particularly Indian English literature, can act as a vehicle for ecological reflection and resistance. It also explores themes of interspecies relationships, environmental justice, and ecological imagination. This paper is a literary criticism of Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard according to the ecocritical theoretical models, like the mounts provided by Greg Garrard and Lawrence Buell, and how this fiction contributes to environmentalism. It continues to claim that literature is capable of expanding the scope of the ecological discussions through imagining metaphorically human ecological relationships, ecological perturbations, and ecological restoration. Finally, the article can enrich the growing body of ecocriticism research by indicating the ability of contemporary Indian postcolonial literature to reveal the contemporary trends in environmental fear and to invite the reader to reconsider his/her attitude to nature in the era of environmental disaster.