Ecological Consciousness Regarding Human-Animal Relationship in Randall Jarrell's The Animal Family

Abstract

Jarrell's views towards world's organism rest on the positive, as well as the negative aspects of human beings in relation to animals. Humans as the creatures of higher line and animals as the creatures of lower line is a thinking of human chauvinism. So, Jarrell tries his best to breakdown this view of human in order to bring a relation of balance between humans and animals. He puts forward his attention on friendliness, togetherness, connectedness, interdependence, and peace and harmony between and among the human and animal characters of the novel. Taming animals for the betterment of both human and animal can be seen from a good eye, but taming the animals only for humans' benefit cannot be acceptable. Jarrell has this view towards human and animal implicit within him as an ecological consciousness.