Decentering of Anthropocentric Interactions and Restructuring of Ecocentric Dialogues in the Interdependence between Man and Nature through Fantasy and Fictional Narratives

Since the onset of industrialization around the year 1800, along with its growing dependence on fossil fuels, have moved us from the Holocene era and into what is now being called the Anthropocene era. Much of the meaning attributed to the human- nature interaction is anthropocentric and this has resulted in causing a disturbing dialogue between nature and man. Many authors have tried to reform anthropocentric signs into the nature-centric sign to convey environmentalist themes and signify the natural environment as independent, culturally complex, and worthy of humanity’s respect. The paper aims to elaborate on the applicability of eco semiotics in literary analysis, especially in regards to fantasy and fictional literature. With the help of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, the 2016 animation film Moana, and the 2009 sci-fi film Avatar, this paper will examine the literature concerning eco semiotics(natural symbols and their interpretation across cultural-ecological boundaries) in an effort to provide an alternative to the positivist approach inherent in much contemporary environmental thought that has contributed to the present environmental crisis (Verhagen, 2008)