Authors use the geographic perspective when crafting writing, stories, or other frictional works. The relationship between people and their natural and constructed environments is often a key part of a story’s plot, theme, or setting. In some books, there will be a large number of descriptions of the natural environment, and some books are even based on the exploration of nature as a plot clue. Deeply fascinated by these books, I would like to explore their individual and common features, as well as how their authors express clearly and perfectly through words about those deep and touching themes they want to share.
I read two novels during the summer holiday, both of which are closely related to geography. Personally I consider them as typical of geography novels. In the following paragraphs, I would like to share my views on the two books, attempting to sum up the common features of novels of this kind.
I.Earth Science Novels
To begin with, I re-read Jules Verne’s Trilogy( Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in Eighty Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas) - it is also them which were my earth science initiation reads that left a lasting impression on me. I consider them as the typical of novels related to earth science, including adventure, science fiction, etc. Apparently, these compositions are characterised by a combination of imagination and modern science, and to some reflect reality to a certain extent.
①First of all, they were written under a background of the Second Industrial Revolution and colonial expansion, backed up by enormous industrial achievements, which, combined with Mr Verne’s magnificent imagination, made these works both realistic and prophetic of the future. For instance, before Verne, a few authors had already tried writing subterranean fictions. However, thanks to his thorough study of Victorian science, Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth is considered as an outstanding one among all this type of book – his concept of a prehistoric realm (which is going to be introduced in detail in the following paragraph) still existing in the present-day world.
Another example of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas could also be used to support this argument: the diving gear used by passengers on the Nautilus is presented as a combination of two existing systems: 1) the surface-supplied hardhat suit, which was fed oxygen from the shore through tubes; 2) a later, self-contained apparatus designed by Benoit Rouquayrol and Auguste Denayrouze in 1865. Their invention featured tanks fastened to the back, which supplied air to a facial mask via the first-known demand regulator. The diver didn’t swim but walked upright across the seafloor. This device was called an aérophore (Greek for “air-carrier”). Its air tanks could hold only thirty atmospheres, however Nemo claims that his futuristic adaptation could do far better: “The Nautilus’s pumps allow me to store air under considerable pressure … my diving equipment can supply breathable air for nine or ten hours.”
②Second, Verne refers to many achievements of the Industrial Revolution and natural science research in his works, integrating these esoteric inventive principles into the colorful storyline, making the extensive study of natural sciences live and popularize. For example, in Journey to the Center of the Earth, there is a genuine underground world which is filled by a deep subterranean ocean, with a rocky coastline covered by petrified tree trunks, the fossils of prehistoric mammals, and gigantic living mushrooms. It is also in the book that Verne discussed the possibility of reaching the center of the earth based on geological theories. Meanwhile, he also introduced us a variety of geological knowledge during the interaction of protagonists, including rocks and rock formations, pressure, volcanoes and so on.
③Third, from the perspective of plot, these compositions are often about travel and adventure, which is inseparable from the influence of the Age of Sail and Discovery. The protagonists’ courage to take risks, pioneer the wilderness, and conquer nature has inspired generations of readers, including me.
The characters in the novel have their own features. For instance, Nemo in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is an eccentric, knowledgeable, calm and resourceful captain; Professor Aronnax has an unlimited passion for scientific inquiry; while the whaler Nederland has a fiery and straightforward temperament. In Journey to the Center of the Earth, there is Professor Otto Lidenbrock, a hot-tempered geologist with radical ideas; Axel, a cautious young student; and Hans Bjelke, their resourceful and imperturbable guide. In Around the World in Eighty Days, the British gentleman Mr. Falk is as cool as a cucumber – despite the difficulties encountered during the journey, he never complains.
Besides the distinct personalities, they also have a lot in common. First of all, they are very humanitarian and attach great importance to friendship. For instance, Mr. Falk spent a lot of precious time saving unknown women and insignificant servants, who also helped him later. Captain Nemo wrestles with sharks to rescue pearl divers; he also tearfully buries his dead companion under the reef. What’s more, they all have a strong spirit of exploration and have always adhered to their beliefs. Even if goals seem impossible to achieve, they never give up.
④Last but not least, social systems, the two-sided effects of the Industrial Revolution, political revolution, etc. were also mentioned in these compostions. Through them, Verne aimed to provoke people to reflect on the society. Of course, as popular science writer, he used more descriptive than direct evaluation or satire, so as to present the lifelike social reality to readers. The most impressive example would be the identity of Captain Nemo, which was revealed in Verne’s later novel, The Mysterious Land. Born as an East Indian aristocrat, one Prince Dakkar, Nemo participated in a major 19th century uprising, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, which was ultimately quashed by the British. After his family were killed by the British, Nemo fled beneath the seas.
II. Human Geography Novels
The second book I read was Chi Zijian’s “The Right Bank of the Erguna River“(额尔古纳河右岸). This is a representative of a humanistic and geographical novel. From the perspective of a 90-year-old Evenk woman who is recounting her life experience, the book reflects the development of the Evenk people in the past hundred years. This nation lived peacefully in the forest, flourished under the grace and torture of nature. In the last century, they suffered Japan’s invasion and the Cultural Revolution. Currently, under the “invasion” of civilization, they had to wander between nomadism and settlement, facing a danger of losing their own culture… With a calm and gentle narrative style and ethereal language, the writer Chi Zijian recreates us the hundred-year persistence of life of the Evenk people and cultural changes they have experienced.
Many people consider this work as an epic elegy of a nation, while personally I think that it is also an elegy about a certain kind of wonderful life, an elegy about a certain kind of values and ways of life of human beings. In the book, people look up at the sky, respect rivers and mountains, admire the gods in their hearts, sing simple but beautiful songs, born in the “sound of the wind”, and finally buried in the wind. In addition to the image as the main character, what also touching and moving is the changing white clouds, the twinkling starlight, the Shilen Pillar, the reindeer, the moon, the Shaman’s dance, the birch and pine trees, and the bright flowing water…… They are not only the background and basis of the characters’ lives, but also the other protagonists in the book. Together, they constitute a beautiful and fragile world, a mixture of joy and suffering, of sadness and happiness.
I greatly appreciate Ms. Chi Zijian’s writing, her way of expression is pure and gentle as the snow in the north, which largely fits the style of story she depicts. Of course, as just mentioned, the description of the natural environment in the book makes this novel even more gripping.
Interestingly, there are comments on the Internet that this book is very similar to Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude“, which is also a book that I always appreciate. It tells about the faces of the mountains, rivers, seas, continents, animals, plants, religious peoples and peoples of the Latin American. Through the fictionalization of the century-long rise and fall of a family, it integrates historical reality and fantasy, interprets the history and destiny of Colombia and even the entire Latin American continent for a century in an epic and magnificent way. In the colorful giant picture, there are not only incredible miracles, but also purest real life. From my perspective, I consider these two books as both the pinnacle of the geographical novels and the jewel of human literature as a whole.
Conclusion
To summarise, all geography-related novels closely combine their plot with the depiction of the natural environment. Through popular science novels, readers can appreciate a lot of science and technology; in cultural novels, there are a great number of descriptions of society and characters’ mind. These novels all discuss the relationship between man and nature, inspiring our enthusiasm for exploring nature or gratitude for it. They also look down on human civilization from the perspective of nature, which not only gives readers a refreshing reading experience, but also provokes us to think deeply.
Original link: https://fiona-f-ang.github.io/2021/10/08/Geography-related Literature/
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