Ecocriticism in The Water Knife Molly McAtee College

How far can our ecosystem impact our lives? According to ecocriticism, the environment influences society in almost every way possible. For instance, in Bressler’s Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice, he states that ecocriticism can, “emphasize place, nature, and the physical world, attesting to the interconnections between humans (their culture) and nature,” (231). This connection between the world and the inhabitants is so strong, that the two can cause developments in each other that are life changing. This concept is clearly scene in Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Water Knife. This novel revolves around the idea that water is running out, so it becomes owned by different states and people. The rights for water are extremely valuable, which makes this necessity become a matter of politics. In this novel, the reader meets a young woman named Maria, who is a perfect example of what an endangered ecosystem can do to a person’s life. For example, in Bacigalupi’s The Water Knife, the characterization of Maria shows the consequences of a collapsing ecosystem on a person’s class and gender.

One effect of the ecosystem that Maria illustrates is how class is created due to our environment. In the novel, water has run...