Geographic Space and its Semantic Heterogeneity: An Ecocritical Reading of To Da-Duh, in Memoriam by Paule Marshall

Abstract

Humans and nature remain bound to each other. Defined by the Holy Scriptures as divine creatures, both of those beings maintain certain equality anchored in spirituality, thus substantiating their relationship of consubstantiality and interdependence. Today where deviationist practices threaten nature and humans’ lives, that spiritual bearing should be maintained. It is more relevant than ever to reinforce it and avoid perilous situations, which can destroy them all. Through a warning word, writers such as Paule Marshall have not only textualized their experience of childhood and that of adulthood, they have also fictionalized their cultural roots. One is rural, and the other is urban; the former provides peaceful life to its Barbadian population thanks to its virgin nature. As to the latter, it offers controversial living conditions to Americans. In truth, it pollutes and degrades the American environment, endangering the citizens’ lives. Published in 1967, To Da-Duh, in Memoriam[1] is a consciousness-raiser whose aesthetic scope transcends its former context and crystalizes in the first half of the twenty-first century. On the one hand, it thematizes the splendor and vitality of Barbadian flora, its harmony with its population, and praises the wonders of nature. On the other hand, it depicts the greatness of American civilization through the realistic picture of the skyscrapers (architecture) and the impact of industrialization on nature. That double fictional representation is of paramount interest, for it raises issues about the responsibility of developing and developed countries in the management of their own environment. Through an ecocritical lens, the current study will bring out the semantic network, which emerges from the picture of space.