Portraying Images: Reconstructing Man and Animal Relationship with Specific Reference to Stephen Alter’s Feral Dreams: Mowgli & His Mothers

Abstract

The relationship between humans and nonhumans is ancient, with both being interrelated or interconnected in numerous ways. In literature, regardless of country, culture, or customs, the role of nonhumans remains significant. Whether in mythology, modern-day fiction, or movies, depictions of animals in human forms and images are common and popular. This illustrates that in human life, the relevance of nonhumans is inevitable, and this cohabitation or coexistence is the core ideology of an ecosystem. However, this ideological value is declining daily as nonhumans are increasingly viewed as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). This highlights their vulnerability in terms of sustainability. In contrast, human beings, the inheritors of superior intellect, continually and predominantly alter their relationships with nonhumans in various ecological settings. As a result, the environmental balance suffers an irreparable loss, leading to a dismal ecological condition. This paper discusses a new approach to revaluing and reconstructing the relationship between humans and animals, as well as other natural entities within forest ecosystems. The question of how this relationship can progress is contentious; one of the central debates has engaged nearly all schools of thought in the humanities and sciences in searching for sustainable solutions for our planet, accommodating both biotic and abiotic worlds without compromising anyone’s rights and significance. In the current socio-political and socio-economic discourse, the concept of ‘you’ and ‘me’ prevails. In this critical condition, where the survival of ecosystems is in jeopardy, no literature can remain idle and ruminate solely on dry literary theory, overlooking the needs of the times. A balanced relationship between humans and nonhumans, as well as abiotic and biotic elements within their respective ecosystems, must be addressed. Stephen Alter’s Feral Dreams: Mowgli and His Mothers (2020), a modern fable, raises several questions advocating the inevitability of the relationship between man and nature, as well as between animate and inanimate entities from a deep ecological perspective. The narrative idealises the interrelation and interdependence of humans, animals, and landscapes in the forests of the Himalayan region, embodying both somberness and beauty. As the demands of humanity increase, cruelty towards animals has escalated to alarming levels. The widespread use of the anthropomorphic approach in literary works can vividly represent the minds of animals. In any ecosystem, the mutual relationship that grows from empathy and compassion is crucial. Voicing the voiceless in English literature is a long-standing practice, which has intensified due to the zeitgeist as humans increasingly neglect the rights of animals.