The Dark Ecology of <i>Naked Lunch</i>
In this article, I argue that William S. Burroughs’ novel <i>Naked Lunch</i> engages in a “perverse aesthetics” that is analogous to Timothy Morton’s theory of dark ecology. The novel’s main themes of consumption and control are directly related to the Anthropocene’s twin disasters of gl...
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/4/130 |
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doaj-98f2abf7cafe4585a1a0457cbd6421b32020-11-25T01:40:41ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872020-10-01913013010.3390/h9040130The Dark Ecology of <i>Naked Lunch</i>George Hart0Department of English, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA 90840, USAIn this article, I argue that William S. Burroughs’ novel <i>Naked Lunch</i> engages in a “perverse aesthetics” that is analogous to Timothy Morton’s theory of dark ecology. The novel’s main themes of consumption and control are directly related to the Anthropocene’s twin disasters of global warming and mass extinction, and the trope for addiction, junk, reveals Burroughs’ deep analysis of the political and social forces that attempt to control life, what Burroughs calls biocontrol. By placing the novel’s obsession with hanging/lynching in the context of dark ecology, its critique of racism can also be seen as a critique of speciesism.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/4/130William S. Burroughs<i>Naked Lunch</i>dark ecologyconsumptioncontrolTimothy Morton |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
George Hart |
| spellingShingle |
George Hart The Dark Ecology of <i>Naked Lunch</i> Humanities William S. Burroughs <i>Naked Lunch</i> dark ecology consumption control Timothy Morton |
| author_facet |
George Hart |
| author_sort |
George Hart |
| title |
The Dark Ecology of <i>Naked Lunch</i> |
| title_short |
The Dark Ecology of <i>Naked Lunch</i> |
| title_full |
The Dark Ecology of <i>Naked Lunch</i> |
| title_fullStr |
The Dark Ecology of <i>Naked Lunch</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Dark Ecology of <i>Naked Lunch</i> |
| title_sort |
dark ecology of <i>naked lunch</i> |
| publisher |
MDPI AG |
| series |
Humanities |
| issn |
2076-0787 |
| publishDate |
2020-10-01 |
| description |
In this article, I argue that William S. Burroughs’ novel <i>Naked Lunch</i> engages in a “perverse aesthetics” that is analogous to Timothy Morton’s theory of dark ecology. The novel’s main themes of consumption and control are directly related to the Anthropocene’s twin disasters of global warming and mass extinction, and the trope for addiction, junk, reveals Burroughs’ deep analysis of the political and social forces that attempt to control life, what Burroughs calls biocontrol. By placing the novel’s obsession with hanging/lynching in the context of dark ecology, its critique of racism can also be seen as a critique of speciesism. |
| topic |
William S. Burroughs <i>Naked Lunch</i> dark ecology consumption control Timothy Morton |
| url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/9/4/130 |
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