아동·청소년소설에서 기후위기의 재현 양상

Abstract

The climate crisis is an urgent issue that humanity is currently facing and striving to resolve. Various efforts are being made to address this crisis. In order to overcome the climate crisis, it is essential to identify its causes in detail and seek individual behavioral changes. However, because the causes and consequences of the climate crisis are often separated by significant time and space, it is difficult for people to recognize their connections. Even when these connections are understood, they can be challenging to internalize. Narrative serves as a means to reconstruct the hidden causal relationships between the causes and phenomena of the climate crisis, which extend beyond time and space in human life. Recognizing this, narratives that reinterpret the climate crisis are emerging in children’s and young adult literature. Such literature sheds light on the dual position of children and adolescents in the era of the climate crisis, urging them to develop their own awareness. While children have a minimal impact on the causes of the climate crisis, they will be among those most affected by its future consequences. Nevertheless, their voices are rarely reflected in climate-related decision-making. Instead, they are often positioned equally with adults as contributors to the crisis. Recently published works, such as Why Why Why Club, and No Human Land, portray child activism in uncovering the causes and effects of the climate crisis. They also depict adolescents adapting to life on Earth amid extreme weather events driven by climate change. These narratives suggest the attitude that children should adopt toward this global issue.