Reframing ecological ethics through green literature: An interdisciplinary ecocritical perspective

Authors

  • Gita Rosani English Department, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61511/jcreco.v3i1.3097

Keywords:

antoine de saint-exupéry, ecocriticism, ecocide, ecolinguistics, green studies, le petit prince

Abstract

Background: This article discusses green studies literature in general. A specific analysis of green studies in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novella, Le Petit Prince, with the theory of ecocriticism. For nowadays, humans should have a high level of respect for nature. Nature is a provider that must be respected and protected, one way to do this is through green studies literature. Unfortunately, the results of this study are limited to that point and do not examine green studies comprehensively. Methods: This study employed a literature review with content analysis of secondary data, then presented narratively. The theories employed include ecocriticism, ecolinguistics, ecodramaturgy, and the anthropocene. The online language translation tool, Google Translate, was used. Google Docs was used for grammar correction. Findings: These findings indicate that green studies has been shown to raise human awareness to restore the balance of nature so that future generations can still enjoy it. Through language as a means of conveying messages. Green literature always gives people space to breathe, think clearly, and act wisely so that environmental destruction does not occur. Even if nature has been damaged, through the study of green literature and interdisciplinary studies, efforts to heal nature are possible. This is in line with changing human thought patterns and actions. Ultimately, to restore balance to the universe, humans, as movers and users, must first restore their own balance and eliminate all greed and all acts of violence, no matter how small. Conclusion: Green Literature emphasizes human responsibility toward nature by fostering ecological awareness, ethical reflection, and intergenerational justice through language and literary expression, positioning ecolinguistics and narrative forms—both verbal and nonverbal—as powerful tools to interpret environmental realities, critique exploitative power, and inspire collective action to protect and restore the earth sustainably. Novelty/Originality of this article: This article offers an original interdisciplinary contribution to ecological discourse by situating literary analysis within broader green studies frameworks and connecting narrative ethics to contemporary environmental challenges.

References

Abbamonte, L. (2021). The ‘sustainable’ video-narratives of Greenpeace – An ecolinguistic investigation. Forum for Modern Language Studies, 57(2), 145–16. https://doi.org/10.1093/fmls/cqab005

Ademola, D. I. (2024). Framing a more-than-human world: An ecolinguistic and eco-critical discourse analysis of framing in selected US oceanic discourse websites. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_da82d760518f4e0398246071e8760b18.pdf

Andriyani, T. (2025). Ecolinguistics Plays Role in Shaping Public Opinion to Save Environment. Universitas Indonesia. https://ugm.ac.id/en/news/ecolinguistics-plays-role-in-shaping-public-opinion-to-save-environment/

Armstrong, R. (2025). Trees and Time: Some Roman Reflections. Green Letters, 29(2), 155–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/14688417.2025.2516236

Asenath, M. T. J., & Santhanalakshmi, A. (2022). A study of eco-criticism for the relationship between natural and human environments. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(2). https://www.jlls.org/index.php/jlls/article/view/4619

Bang, J. C., Døør, J., Nash, J., & Steffensen, S. V. (2007). Language, ecology and society: A dialectical approach. Continuum International Publishing Group.

Bellewes, E. (2023). Commodification as sustainability: An ecolinguistic study of Swedish wildlife management discourse. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_24e7bbe81f2c4dba84a84f6584bf01ef.pdf

Bezan, S., & Neimanis, A. (2022). Hydrofeminism on the Coastline: An Interview with Astrida Neimanis. Anthropocenes – Human, Inhuman, Posthuman, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.16997/ahip.1363

Butler, D. R. (2021). The Anthropocene: A Special Issue. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 111(3), 633–637. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1859312

Caimotto, M. C. (2020). Discourses of cycling, road users and sustainability: An ecolinguistic investigation. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44026-8

Drury, M., Fuller, J. M., Keijzer, M. C. J., Almonacid-Hurtado, P., & Hoeks, J. C. J. (2025). Ecolinguistic phrasing in environmental communication: A comparative study. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_127c9b86c5264ff19a05f0340c8360d5.pdf

Ecocriticism. (2024). Climate in Arts and History: Promoting Climate Literacy Across Disciplines. https://www.science.smith.edu/climatelit/ecocriticism/

Forte, D. L. (2024). Robert Poole, Corpus-Assisted Ecolinguistics. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_b426cc1a39c84612a29cc4e73eb50922.pdf

Goffin, K., & Friend, S. (2022). Learning Implicit Biases from Fiction. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 80(2), 129–139. http://doi.org/10.1093/jaac/kpab078

Gumbs, A. P. (2020). Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Animals. Chico; AK Press. http://doi.org/10.3898/SOUN.78.01.2021

Hagège, C. (1985). L'homme de paroles. Paris: Fayard

Hall, E. (2025). An Ecocritical Reading of the Homeric Iliad. Green Letters, 29(2), 112–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/14688417.2025.2548508

Hall, E. (2025). Trees in Ancient Greek and Roman Poetry: An Ecocritical Approach to Classics. Green Letters, 29(2), 105–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/14688417.2025.2548171

Haugen, E. (1972). The Ecology of Language. Standford University Press.

Hourdequin, P. (2024). Where is here? The cross-cultural grammar and deeper meanings of experiences in nature. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_d55a0582d1cc4b9080e1bf4b460e6e1c.pdf

Huang, G., & Zhao, R. (2021). Harmonious discourse analysis: Approaching peoples’ problems in a Chinese context. Language Sciences, 85, 101365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2021.101365

Isti’anah, A. (2021). Attitudinal language of flora and fauna discourse on an Indonesian tourism website: Appraisal in ecolinguistics. PAROLE: Journal of Linguistics and Education, 11(2), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.14710/parole.v11i2.163-174

Isti'anah, A. (2020). (Re) evaluating language attitudes on Indonesian tourism website: A study on ecolinguistics. Studies in English Language and Education, 7(2), 622-641. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v7i2.16683

Istianah, A., & Suhandano, S. (2022). Appraisal patterns used on the kalimantan tourism website: An ecolinguistics perspective. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2022.2146928

Kalof, L. (Ed.) (2017). The Oxford Handbook of Animal Studies. Oxford University Press. http://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199927142.001.0001

Langer, L., Burghardt, M., Borgards, R., Böhning‐Gaese, K., Seppelt, R., & Wirth, C. (2021). The rise and fall of biodiversity in literature: A comprehensive quantification of historical changes in the use of vernacular labels for biological taxa in Western creative literature. People and Nature, 3(5), 1093-1109. http://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10256

Lonergan, P. (2025). ‘To Know How It Ends/And Still Begin to Sing It Again’: Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown, the Climate Crisis, and Recursive Ecodramaturgies. Green Letters, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/14688417.2025.2571106

May, T. (2024). Reflections on insects and decolonization in the Anthropocene. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_8f7aa2a5860e4203934fccdc92a3d1e3.pdf

May, T. (2024). Walking, reading, and writing the trails of Tualatin Hills Nature Park. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_d3cd8292a2bd400e96b8a00930bed40a.pdf

Miller, P. R. (2024). When is a nature note not a nature note?. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_8632a1be8fb14bb8bcbf5a803fff5bfd.pdf

Nguyen, T., Malina, R., Mokas, I., Papakonstantinou, A., Polyzos, O., & Vanhove, M. P. (2023). WASP: The world archives of species perception. Database, 2023, baad003. http://doi.org/10.1093/database/baad003

Overduin-de Vries, A. M., & Smith, P. J. (2023). Fishing in the past: Biodiversity, art history, and citizen science–Preliminary results. In Ichthyology in Context (1500–1880) (pp. 298-321). Brill. http://doi.org/10.1163/9789004681187_010

Parmar, S., & Parakh, M. (2024). Fresh air in a box: An Eco-critical Analysis of Advertisements Offering Solutions to Air Pollution. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_99d4ba280a234fe9ad1efedc46f04e2a.pdf

Penz, H. & Fill, A. (2022). Ecolinguistics: History, today, and tomorrow. Journal of World Languages, 8(2), 232-253. https://doi.org/10.1515/jwl-2022-0008

Piper, A. (2022). Biodiversity is not declining in fiction. Journal of Cultural Analytics, 7(3), 1–15. http://doi.org/10.22148/001c.38739

Prastio, B., Santoso, A., Roekhan, Maulidina, A., Numertayasa, I. W., & Suardana, I. P. O. (2023). An ecolinguistic study: The representation of forest conservation practices in the discourse of Anak Dalam Jambi tribe, Indonesia. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2023.2262788

Rohmer, M. C. (2023). Linguistic relativity and environmental sustainability: Lessons drawn from a double language approach to the World Water Forum 2022 in Senegal. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_d06fea5824ac492d8aa011d8d9e528b9.pdf

Salzinger, K. (1979). Modeling neurosis: one type of learning is not enough. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2(2), 181-182. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X00061835

Sarkar, S. (2021). Origin of the Term Biodiversity. BioScience, 71(9), 893. http://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab071

Schreyer, C. (2024). Green ideals: How learning the Na’vi language helps protect our planet. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_9c621fb572a24dabba180e1b65829575.pdf

Steffensen, S. V., & Fill, A. (2014). Ecolinguistics: The ecology of language and science: Special Issue of Language Sciences. Elsevier. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03880001/41/part/PA

Tait, A. (2021). Eco-criticism(s) and Victorian Fiction: A Review Essay. Dickens Studies Annual, 52(1), 103–137. https://doi.org/10.5325/dickstudannu.52.1.0103

Tribot, A. S., Faget, D., Richard, T., & Changeux, T. (2022). The role of pre-19th century art in conservation biology: An untapped potential for connecting with nature. Biological Conservation, 276, 109791. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109791

Ulloa-Torrealba, Y., Stahlmann, R., Wegmann, M., & Koellner, T. (2020). Over 150 years of change: Object-oriented analysis of historical land cover in the main river catchment, Bavaria/Germany. Remote Sensing, 12(24), 4048. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12244048

Krausmann, F., & Haberl, H. (2002). The process of industrialization from the perspective of energetic metabolism: Socioeconomic energy flows in Austria 1830–1995. Ecological Economics, 41(2), 177-201. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8009(02)00032-0

Lambin, E. F., & Geist, H. J. (Eds.). (2008). Land-use and land-cover change: local processes and global impacts. Springer Science & Business Media.

Cardinale, B. J., Duffy, J. E., Gonzalez, A., Hooper, D. U., Perrings, C., Venail, P., ... & Naeem, S. (2012). Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature, 486(7401), 59-67. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11148

Vineis, P. (2025). The ‘Flattening of the World’: Why the Anthropocene Science Needs Humanities. Anthropocenes – Human, Inhuman, Posthuman 6(1). https://doi.org/10.16997/ahip.1890

Tilman, D. (1999). The ecological consequences of changes in biodiversity: a search for general principles. Ecology, 80(5), 1455-1474. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[1455:TECOCI]2.0.CO;2

Schmid, K., Hewstone, M., Tausch, N., Cairns, E., & Hughes, J. (2009). Antecedents and consequences of social identity complexity: Intergroup contact, distinctiveness threat, and outgroup attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(8), 1085-1098. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209337037

Díaz, S., Demissew, S., Joly, C., Lonsdale, W. M., & Larigauderie, A. (2015). A Rosetta Stone for nature’s benefits to people. PLoS Biology, 13(1), e1002040. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002040

Díaz, S., Pascual, U., Stenseke, M., Martín-López, B., Watson, R. T., Molnár, Z., ... & Shirayama, Y. (2018). Assessing nature's contributions to people. Science, 359(6373), 270-272. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap8826

Barad, K. (2007). Meeting the universe halfway: Quantum physics and the entanglement of matter and meaning. Duke University Press.

Haraway, D. J. (2016). Manifestly haraway (Vol. 37). U of Minnesota Press.

Walewicz, P. (2025). Redefining the oppressed: The biotariat, ecolinguistics, and world-ecology. International Ecolinguistics Association. https://www.ecolinguistics-association.org/_files/ugd/ae088a_c087719b8a64491d846faa54b7dcdd72.pdf

Warodell, J. A. (2025). Rewilding Animal Studies: Biodiversity Bias in Modernist Fiction and Criticism. Anthropocenes–Human, Inhuman, Posthuman, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.16997/ahip.1771

Yu, J. (2022). Translation Criticism on Children’s Literature in the New Era from the Perspective of Eco-translatology——With an Illustration of Chinese Translation of The Little Prince. language, 5(16), 6-14. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2022.051602

Yujuan, C. (2021). Ecological Discourse Analysis of ‘the Little Prince.’. Journal of Sociology and Ethnology, Clausius Scientific Press, Canada, 3(8), 30-34. https://dx.doi.org/10.23977/jsoce.2021.030807

Zhang, H. (2022). Philosophical Thoughts from the Perspective of Ecological Literature: A Case Study of The Little Prince. Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science, 10(9), 366-369. https://www.questjournals.org/jrhss/papers/vol10-issue9/1009366369.pdf

Downloads

Published

2026-02-28

Issue

Section

Articles

Citation Check