Echoes of the Forest: Eco-Mythology and Ecological Inheritance in The Overstory and Greenwood

This paper attempts to study the ecological themes and elements that deal with the concept of eco-mythology in Richard Powers’ “The Overstory” and Michael Christie’s “Greenwood”. These texts interweave ecological themes with whimsical elements to root for contemporary environmental challenges. These novels portray forests and trees not merely as settings but as main characters with intense mythological significance, embodying life, forbearance, and the interrelation of all living creatures. Through the analysis of characters and their adaptations resulting from their communication with nature, this paper culminates in examining the role of eco-mythology in challenging the anthropocentric point of view and establishing a profound relationship between humans and the green world. This study also establishes these novels within a broader literary context juxtaposing them with other works of eco-mythology and reviewing their contribution to eco-critical discourse. This study examines how storytelling techniques employed by the authors are used to critique environmental impairment and ecological inheritance, while advocating for a more sustainable and sacred relationship with nature.