Environmental Ethical Awareness in G.B. Shaw's Play Androcles and the Lion

Abstract

This research explores the Environmental Ethical Awareness in G.B. Shaw's Play Androcles and the Lion. Androcles, who runs away from his cruel master, encounters with a hurt lion in the dark forest and helps it for pulling a great thorn out of its paw. Later, Androcles is caught and taken to the palace of emperor where he is condemned to be thrown to the lion. It was the same lion he had helped therefore, it helped Androcles to be free from slavery instead of killing and eating him up. Androcles, too carries him out from the cage. Both the characters, who is one of human and another animal respect environmental ethical codes and conducts by sharing the mutual help with each other to be free from slavery and cage. The role of Androcles, the lion, Megaera and the emperor is dominant by which the author depicts their different activities of life signifying them as members of the same biotic community whose life is interdependent to each other. Shaw intends to deliver the message that one must treat the fellow animals with ethical touch and understand their sensation of being.