Grim Ambiguity Coupled with Sanguinity: Submergence of Anthropocentrism in Dystopian Climate Fiction

Abstract This study seeks to carry out a comparative examination of The Drowned World (1962) by J. G. Ballard and New York 2140 (2017) by K. S. Robinson, two examples of dystopian climate fiction, from an ecocritical standpoint. Both the former, written in the 20 th century, and the latter, written in the 21 st century, speculate on the 22 nd century from parallel angles and get involved in unparalleled dialogues with the Anthropocene, which makes it possible to delve into both relatively old and fairly new modes of understanding of the Anthropocene via an ecocritical lens. Despite their parallel points of departures from the severity of ongoing alterations in most spheres of the planet on unprecedented levels, coupled with their parallel subjects of the extirpation of human supremacy in an inundated London and a half-inundated New York, respectively, the comparative eco-spotlight is aimed at the ways in which they submerge the deep-rooted anthropocentrism and bring to light their unparalleled speculations on what emerges when it is submerged. Such a deep dive into the close-knit dialogues of both with the complexities of the Anthropocene is oriented towards unearthing the tangled eco-nets springing from their similarly-formed cores but weaving disparately-based eco-futures.