ZOOCRITICISM: Definition and Explanation

ZOOCRITICISM

·  Hello everyone! Today, we are going to talk about Zoocriticism and we will discuss about the role of literature in creating awareness about the rights of animals.

·  If we talk about human rights, women’s rights, don’t you think we must also talk about animal rights?

·   This is precisely what Zoocriticism is all about.

·   First of all let’s see what Zoocriticism is.

·      Zoocriticism is the study of how animals are represented in literature, art, and culture. It looks at how humans write about animals, how humans think about animals, and how they treat animals.

·      Actually, Zoocriticism is a part of ecocriticism, which studies the relationship between literature and the environment.

·      Humans and animals are sharing equal parts in environment. Then why should we keep the discussion of aniomals apart? We must discuss and discuss seriously about the animals in our art and in our literature.

 

·      Zoocriticism asks important questions like:

·        How are animals portrayed in our stories, novels and poems?

·        Are they shown as real, living beings or just as symbols?

·        Do these writings influence how we treat animals in real life?

·        Does our literature talk about the rights of animals on this planet?

Animal Representation in Literature

·        Writers have always used animals in different ways. Sometimes, animals are given human qualities, like in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where pigs represent political leaders. Other times, animals are shown as part of nature, like in Jack London’s White Fang, which explores the life of a wild wolf-dog.

·        But Zoocriticism is not just about how animals appear in stories. It must also connect to animal rights.

·        Literature and Animal Rights

·        Some books and poems make us think about how we treat animals in real life. For example:

·        Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty (1877) tells the story of a horse and how humans treat it—good and bad. This novel helped people understand that animals have feelings and they deserve kindness.

·        J.M. Coetzee’s The Lives of Animals (1999) raises deep moral questions about eating animals and using them for experiments.

·         ·        These works don’t just describe animals; they make us think about their rights and our responsibilities.

·        Why is this Important?

·        Literary criticism, or the way we analyze books, is not just about what is written but also about why it matters. When we study animal representation, we are also questioning whether animals are treated fairly in our society. Should they be used for entertainment? Should they have legal rights? Literature helps us reflect on these issues.

Conclusion

·        Zoocriticism believes that literature should not be about  only storytelling but also about ethics and justice to animals.

·        True literature must focus on creating awareness about the rights of animals and it must awaken emotional awareness about the co-existence of humans and animals together on this planet earth.

·        Thank you for watching! If you have any thoughts on this topic, feel free to share them in the comments. See you next time!

 

Writers and their Pen Names

 

Author’s Pen Name/ Pseudonym	Author’s Real Name
Richard Bachman	Stephen King
L. Frank Baum	Edith Van Dyne
Nicholas Blake	Cecil Day Lewis
Anne Brontë	Acton Bell
Charlotte Brontë	Currer Bell
Emily Brontë	Ellis Bell
Anthony Burgess	John ['Jack'] Burgess Wilson
John le Carre	David John Moore Cornwell
Lewis Carroll	Charles Lutwidge Dodgson
George Eliot	Mary Ann Evans
Hergé	Georges Remi
Molière	Jean Baptiste Poquelin
George Orwell	Eric Arthur Blair
Ellery Queen	Frederic Dannay (with co‐author/cousin)
	Manfred B. Lee
J.D. Robb	Nora Roberts
A. N. Roquelaure	Anne Rice
Saki	Hector Hugh Munro
George Sand	Amandine Dupin
Dr. Seuss	Theodor Geisel
Lemony Snicket	Daniel Handler
Stendhal	Marie Henri Beyle
Mark Twain	Samuel Langhorn Clemens
Barbara Vine	Ruth Rendell
Voltaire	François‐Marie Arouet
Mary Westmacott	Dame Agatha Christie

 

WORD ORDER IN ENGLISH

WORD ORDER IN ENGLISH

Explained by Dr. Vipul V. Kapoor, Associate Professor

Word order refers to the way words are arranged in a sentence. The standard word order in English is:

Subject + Verb + Object

To determine the proper sequence of words, we need to understand what the subject, verb and object(s) are.

·      Subject: typically a noun or pronoun—the person, place or thing

·      Verb: the action or state of being

·      Object: the word or group of words influenced by the verb

John (subject) plays (verb) football (object).

The sequence of words is important while communicating in English because it can impact the meaning of what we are trying to say. Look at the following examples:

·      The teacher (subject) teaches (verb) the student. (object) - CORRECT

·      The student (subject) teaches (verb) the teacher. (object) - INCORRECT

·      The cat (subject) catches (verb) the mouse. (object) - CORRECT

·      The mouse (subject) catches (verb) the cat. (object) – INCORRECT

 

ORDER OF PARTS OF SPEECH:

In English there are eight parts of speech as under.

OPEN CLASS	CLOSED CLASS
Noun	Preposition
Verb	Conjunction
Adjective	Determiner
Adverb	Interjection

 

All these parts of speech have specific places in the sentences. If we change their order or place in the sentences, either the meaning changes or the sentence becomes meaningless. Hence, it is very important to understand the proper order of these parts of speech.

 

 

 

WORD ORDER – NOUN:

Definition: Noun is a word which indicates a person, place, thing or idea. For example, milkman, garden, table, happiness etc.

Where to Use?

Nouns can be used either as the subject or as the object.

The milkman delivers the milk.

 

WORD ORDER – VERB:

Definition: Verb is a word which indicates some action or state of being. For example, go, come, speak, play etc.

Where to use?

Verbs are used just after the subject in a declarative sentence.

I am watching a video.

 

WORD ORDER – ADJECTIVE:

Definition: Adjective is a word which modifies the meaning of the noun. For example, beautiful lady, blue shirt, long distance etc.

Where to use?

Adjectives are used before the noun.

We saw a beautiful rainbow.

 

WORD ORDER – ADVERB:

Definition: Adverb is a word which modifies the meaning of the verb. For example, slowly, yesterday, often, boldly etc.

Where to Use?

Adverbs are placed at three places in a sentence.
1.     At the front of the sentence, before the subject:

Suddenly, the child ran towards the gate.

Yesterday, he met me at my home.

2.     At the end of a sentence, after the object
         Thechildren will join the school tomorrow.

Sheela invited her friends too.

3.     In the middle of a sentence (before or after the verb) or in the middle of a group of verbs

• Before the verb:

He often studies before class.
John rarely visits his uncle.

• After the verb:
  Sarah works quietly at her desk.
  Marco looks fondly at me.
  
  
• In the middle of a group of verbs:
  The students quickly submitted their assignments.
  Rosie has nearly finished her homework.

 

WORD ORDER – PREPOSITION:

Definition: The words which convey more information about the nouns in terms of place, time, locationect are called the prepositions. For example, in, on, at, from, to, under etc.

Where to use?

Prepositions are used before the nouns or before the determiners.

Jack travels by car. (before the noun)

John lives in the USA. (before the determiner)

 

WORD ORDER – CONJUNCTION:

Definition: The word which joins two different words or clauses in a sentence is called a conjunction. For example, and, or, but etc.

Where to use?

Conjunctions are used between two nouns, two pronouns or two clauses.

MeeraandSita are good friends.

Peter watches either news or movies.

The manager said that he was busy then.

 

WORD ORDER – DETERMINER:

Definition:The word which determines the noun is called a determiner. For example, a, an, the, this, that, these, those, any, some etc.

Where to use?

Determiners are used before the nouns or adjectives.

This car is new.

Do you have any electronic device?

Jack has a meeting in the evening.

 

WORD ORDER – INTERJECTION:

Definition: The words which express our emotions are called interjections. They are generally used in informal language. For example, oh, alas, wow, hurray etc.

Where to use?

Interjections are generally used in the beginning of the sentence. They are followed by exclamation marks. (!)

         Oh! It was a wonderful scene!

         Hurray! We won the match.