Att hylla livet, men rädas dess framtid : Den globala uppvärmningen genom Bob Hanssons ögon

The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the possibility to communicate messagesrelated to sustainable development through cultural works. Culture is here synonymous toliterature or, more specifically, the fiction genre. According to ecocritical research, this genrehas the capacity to contribute to a more sustainable development and is therefore interestingto analyse from an environmental point of view.The novel selected for the study is Vips så blev det liv - eller en hyllning till blågrönalgen(2010), written by the Swedish author Bob Hansson. The analysis is mainly focused on howthe book’s climate related messages are formulated and integrated in the story. Alsoconsidered is in what way Hansson’s strategies are compatible with the expectations raisedtowards the fiction genre within the context of sustainable development; expectations thatinclude the ability to evoke emotion, to convey new values and perspectives, and to act as alink between different parts of society.One conclusion to be drawn from the analysis is that Hansson approaches the climate issuein several ways. For example, Vips så blev det liv reflects both anthropocentric and bio-/ecocentric values, and the messages are delivered in an informative as well as in anillustrative manner. Moreover, the literary tropes give the book an emotional touch, whichmay help the reader to comprehend the information. In other words, the methods used are to alarge extent in line with the above mentioned expectations towards the fiction genre.What is however important to remember, is that the book includes several parallel themesand many comic episodes. For that reason, it cannot be taken for granted that the reader willpay much attention to the climate messages; however emotional, multidisciplinary andunconventional they may be. This highlights the difficulty in predicting the response to acertain cultural work. In order to understand its true potential in terms of communicatingmessages for a sustainable development, it is therefore essential to analyse the whole chainthat links the creator of the work to its recipients