The Use of Fiction to Advance the Cause of Environmental Protection - Case Study Example

For instance, the audience is left curious about the step that Jewett will take after locating the white heron; particularly whether her decision will be an environmental moralist one or a Machiavellian one where the end (getting money from the ornithologist-cum-hunter) justifies the means. This interest and attention of the audience remain critically important towards inculcating environmental themes.

One of the disadvantages of using fiction is the failure to elicit the seriousness that the tackled subject deserves. This is in total contrast to nonfiction such as McGrath’s Feature: the Last Great Wilderness, where the migratory population of the 129,000 caribous is shown to be endangered. By extension, by showing how the policies of the Bush Administration on gas and oil drilling along the coastal plains affect aquatic and terrestrial life, McGrath’s nonfiction readily elicits seriousness and responsible and corrective action from the audience.

The problem with nonfiction such as McGrath’s is the inability to capture the interests of the audience, especially the section of the audience that possesses no predisposition towards environmental issues and ethics.

To seal the shortcomings of both fiction and nonfiction discussed above, it would be very helpful to integrate their unique elements. In this effect, McGrath’s nonfiction can start with an anecdote which is fiction. This would ensure increased interest in the matter.

This is a story by Charles W. Chesnutt, which was published in Chesnutt’s second collection of short narratives in 1899. Apart from the usual revisiting of the nature and extent of slavery in the South, the story brought into the public, debates on the cognitive abilities of the African American and the African American slaves, in light of the Caucasians. This is because the story presents Grandison, a slave who eventually outwits his master, Colonel Owen.

Humour plays out in the story, especially in its conclusion, as a mere uneducated slave outwits his lord, a colonel. Conversely, Col. Owens cannot see through Grandison’s sarcasm (for instance, when Grandison says that slavery is good) sparks humour. Generally, humour plays out in the integration of sarcasm, tricks and irony into the story’s plotline. The plot also uses caricatures of plantation figures throughout, and thereby readily and continually sparking laughter. An alternative meaning that “passing” can take about Grandison is his metamorphosis from a mere slave into a victorious protagonist. Grandison passes himself on as a fool (being a slave, he pretends to vindicate slavery) before his master, only for him to pass himself later as the master planner and schemer.