Despite this, I argue that if anthropomorphism can be used as a tool of characterisation, the recital of anthropocentrism could also offer a useful way to shine a light on issues of species binary in the hands of a nonhuman animal narrator. The novel ultimately pushes anthropomorphism so far that the nonhuman animal character becomes unintentional parody. I suggest that there are limitations to this portrayal. Hale uses anthropomorphism in his novel as a tool in his portrayal of his nonhuman protagonist, Bruno, and in so doing shines a stark light on human/nonhuman animal binary. I explore how Benjamin Hale’s 2011 novel The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore offers avenues into perceiving, understanding and experiencing the species divide. This paper explores the notion of human/nonhuman animal binary or ‘the species boundary’, which, in scientific terms, refers to ‘species differentiation’ (Huggan and Tiffin 139), while in philosophy it refers to ‘ontological difference’ (Wolf, Zoontologies 4-5). Despite Goodall’s discovery, the commonality between humans and other primates continues to be met with both resistance and exploitation. He replied, ‘Now we must redefine “tool”, redefine “man” or accept chimpanzees as humans’ (Goodall, ‘Must We Redefine’). Goodall sent her findings to archaeologist and palaeontologist Louis Leakey. Jane Goodall first observed chimpanzees in Tanzania in 1960, where she saw them fashioning tools from the stems of leaves and using these stems to fish termites from a mound.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |