Fourth Year Hon. Mention: ‘The Others of animals’: Representations and Uses of Insects in Human Culture

HUMA 4228, Nature in narrative. CD: Joan Steigerwald.

Abstract

In this well-crafted and interesting paper, the author observes how, despite being essential to the environment and, ultimately, to human existence, insects are commonly “used to represent difference and alienation”. Analyzing the human reaction to the insect, the writer cogently bases their analysis on two contexts—"disgust and fascination”. The essay features a potent combination of natural science and literary analysis (via Kafka’s The Metamorphosis [1915] and Yann Martel’s Life of Pi [2001]) to explore how we are both repelled by and drawn to the insect, beings which represent “the Other of Others” in human cultures.

The problem with this, as the author capably argues, is that most life on earth relies on insects one way or the other, and yet many species are appearing on endangered lists, as humans’ penchant for negative stereotyping justifies either ignorance or active eradication. Unless, like butterflies, they’re lucky enough to be pretty, the “otherness” of insects means this precarity receives little attention. In well-written and convincing fashion, the author does well to remind us that unless we abandon our attack on the insect and move to an attitude of “collaboration,” our own species’ exit will follow not long after the last ‘bug’ is swatted. Considerable research and cultural awareness impressed the assessors and made them rethink their own response to the natural world, while clear, passionate prose made the paper a pleasure to read.