Catastrophic Ecological Projections in J.G. Ballard's The Drought

Abstract

James G. Ballard (1930-2009) is regarded as a strong critic of materialism and commercialization amid rapid industrialization and is connected with a new generation of dystopian fiction for creating a largely post-apocalyptic world. In his work, he speculates on the type of catastrophe that would befall humanity as a consequence of modifications in the inhuman ecosystem due to contamination and industrialization. Ballard attempts to highlight the impact of human actions on nonhumans and environmental catastrophes on humankind by producing apocalyptic books in which the planet is wrecked by drought, floods, windstorms, or crystalline lattice. Ballard depicts a desolate world intimidated by a drastic climatic transition in The Drought (1965), a dystopian narrative that was first authored in 1964 under the headline The Burning World. This was caused by the worldwide discharge of toxic substances and manufacturing effluents into river systems and ocean water, which prevented rain and evapotranspiration due to an oceanic sheet of plastic. This paper seeks to examine The Drought as an ecology apocalypse that examines the interaction between humanity and nature. To accomplish this, the Eco criticism concept will be used in Larchmont, a waterfront community on the U.S. east coastline, where a 10 years drought is taking place.