A Novel Approach to the Interpretation and Analysis of Animals: From Genera to Genre

Abstract

Animals as characters can bring silliness and incongruity, making a story more enjoyable. But they also add a degree of emotional distance for the reader, which is important when the story message is personal, painful, or powerful. Significant animal work in literature and animal studies is combined with in-depth readings to present a novel way of classifying animals based on tropes rather than taxonomy and a novel way of organizing literary history that emphasises genera over genres. The book challenges us to reevaluate the place of literature in a society that views it as an important art form by causing us to see animals and our relationship to them through new eyes. Human worlds are built upon animal lives and deaths, both conceptually and physically. It is difficult to imagine how we could mark ourselves out as humans without other animals, for we have become humans alongside other animals in the sense of humans and animals living parallel but separate lives. From the beginning, these were lives that have always been and remain profoundly intertwined. However, it also calls into question the many ways in which animals are portrayed and arranged in human cultures and societies throughout the world, as well as how these connections might be altered for the benefit of both the individuals and the communities in the matter.

Keywords: Animal phobia, commercial filming, human-animal relation.