Subversion of anthropocentric viewpoint in Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Abstract

Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earththrows light upon the consequences brought up by anthropocentric misdeeds of humankind on ecology. It designates an expedition to the core of the Earth to subvert anthropocentric instinct inherited from ancestral myths and tales as well as the Enlightenment or the sense of rationality.This research exposes the human world as the responsible being to bring ecological crisis on the surface of the Earth. In order to illustrate such things, this research takes upon the symbolic representation of pre-historic world and response of nature towards Verne’s characters and their deeds.To interrogate the deeds of humankind, the researchercarries ontheinsightsof biocentrism as well as deep ecologyof different ecocritical scholars as Rob Boddice,Greg Gerrard,Timothy W. Luke,Cheryll Glotfelty,Lawrence Buelland so on.By analyzing thetale of lost worldswiththe existence of extinct zoological and botanical species in the bowels of the Earth, this researchstrikesthe humankind as the sourceof degeneration of environment and extinction of numerous species on the surface of the Earth.It also makes a point that human race must keep limitationsto deal with nature andevaluate their misdeeds intended to conquer, humanize, domesticate, exploit or manipulate the natural phenomenon through unwise experiments of science and technology.Thus,it leaves a lesson to humankind to think and evaluate their egocentric knowledge in order to keep harmony with nature and shield the generations that have to follow.