“I Am the Eternal Green Man”: Holistic Ecology in Reading Patrick Ness’s A Monster Calls

Abstract

Holistic ecology considers nature and society as a whole, viewing humans and the environment as interdependent and interconnected. This article takes the lens of holistic ecology to examine the representation of human-nature relationships in Patrick Ness's A Monster Calls (2011) and explores how the novel guides the child reader to an environmental mind-set beyond overt didacticism. The article focuses on two aspects of the bond between the magical tree and the human characters in the novel: how the powerful tree empowers humans and how the human characters contribute to the tree's expressions of power. The eternal Green Man-as the tree introduces itself-embodies this bond by being simultaneously tree-like and humanlike, a complex merger of "the Green" (nature) and "the Man" (humanity). The monster-tree fulfils several powerful and empowering roles, such as monster and storyteller, destructive force and powerful healer, savage and philosopher, nightmare and escape. Importantly, it always keeps the shape of a yew tree. As such, A Monster Calls can contribute to children's environmental education by illustrating the connection between the natural environment and humans: the eternal bond between "the Green" and "the Man.

Natures instead of nature—plural perceptions and representations of nature and its challenges for ecological transition: a systematic review of the scientific production

“…Endowed with works that seek to promote a theoretical and interdisciplinary debate, they represent nature as a real, living entity: an entity with agency and transformative power [52,[185][186][187][188][189][190][191][192][193][194][195][196][197], since nature, or "Mother Nature, " is a unity of which humanity is an integral part [198][199][200][201][202][203]. These studies reject a dichotomous view between nature-society and nature-culture, as they argue that we live in a symbiotic community that is a large, unique, and underappreciated sphere of life, where nature and humanity are essentially integrated at the spiritual and moral plans [5,[204][205][206][207][208][209][210][211][212][213][214][215][216][217], a "conjoint constitution" stated by Freudenburg et al [218]. These studies demonstrate that acknowledging our interconnectedness with nature might instil a sense of appreciation, responsibility, and stewardship for the natural world.…”

Potential of Fables as Learning Resources for Environmental Education and Its Relevance to the Merdeka Belajar Curriculum

“…This research also uses novels to build characters who care about the environment. Thus, A Monster Calls can contribute to children's environmental education by illustrating the relationship between the natural environment and man: the eternal bond between "the Green" and "the Man" (Yarova, 2020).…”