Emotional Memories Entwined with Ecospaces: An Ecocritical and Memory Studies Analysis of Jack London’s The Law of Life

Abstract

Jack London’s The Law of Life (1901) is a profound emotional narrative depicting the last moments of Koskoosh, an elderly member of a nomadic Alaskan tribe. This paper examines how Koskoosh’s episodic memories intertwine with cultural and the eco-scape he lived, revealing an intricate relationship between individual consciousness and ecological spaces. Drawing on contemporary memory studies, including theories of narrative or fictional episodic and collective memory (Conway, 2005; Assmann, 2011), and ecocritical studies (Glotfelty, 1996; Buell, 1995), this analysis highlights how narrative memory functions as a repository and medium for ecological and cultural understanding. The study evaluates memory in The Law of Life is inseparable from the environment of its characters in, perceiving nature not as a mere backdrop but as a dynamic agent contributes to the formation of the cultural identity consciousness of each individual.