An Ecocritical Reading of John Updike’s Novel, of the Farm Essay Example

the women in his life, Joey also grapples with memories of his deceased father and ex-wife Joan, as well as their three offspring. The farm's old-fashioned environment and pictures evoke suppressed feelings of regret and guilt within him. When his aging mother struggles to keep up with the garden maintenance, Joey steps up to tackle the task of cutting back the overgrown grass. The story reaches its peak on a Sunday afternoon during a visit to a Lutheran Church Service where Mrs. Robinson experiences a minor cardiac event while returning but recovers swiftly. Despite this alarming incident, Joey along with Peggy and Richard adhere to their planned excursion to New York.

In spite of his mother's deep love for the countryside, Joey finds himself powerfully drawn to New York, perceiving the farm as a stifling constraint. Although he holds a distaste for farmhouse life, he also experiences an instinctive connection to nature, described as the raw exhilaration of a primitive man. An instance of this is evident in the subsequent lines: "One day, my mother left a tin measuring cup carelessly on the bench, which over time turned into a permanent fixture. At my lips, its marked sides transformed into a cavern's walls where my breath danced with cold well water's sways." (52).

Mrs. Robin's deeply rooted love and connection for the land enables her to fend off the encroaching suburbia, safeguarding her farm. She articulates that her lifelong desires comprised of owning a horse as a child, and as she grew older, these expanded to include her son and her farm. "Throughout my life, I've had only three major desires. Initially, it

was a horse, which my father bought for me. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep it when we relocated. Subsequently, my wishes were centered around my son and my farm, and thankfully, George made these possible." (27)

Mrs. Robinson declares that her farm and son hold the same level of importance to her, suggesting an equal fondness for both. She is of the opinion that living close to nature, whilst having a spiritual connection with God away from the crowd, contributes significantly to one's wholeness. Mrs. Robinson holds in high regard life on a farm over that in rural areas. She draws attention to the dull uniformity of city living where air conditioning causes all seasons to merge into a single experience. Conversely, she underscores the richness and unpredictability of agricultural life where every day presents something different, each week conveys notable changes and even bird songs vary without repetition.

Nature is always unique; every August evening is singular in its existence - it has never occurred previously and it won't recur in the future." (82). Her perspective entails a deep connection between mankind and earth, which is why she cannot bear to part with her farm, desiring to merge with the immortal earth. Mrs. Robinson's life is significantly shaped by nature. The farm is integral to her existence. Her disapproval of Peggy's influence over Joey, who has a vested interest in selling the land, is evident. Unlike his mother, Joey lacks any profound affiliation with the land.

The strongest and most convincing proof of his previous residence in the house can be seen in their weekend dialogues. Making a comparison to ancient believers

who attributed specific intents to an indifferent universe, Joey's mother assigned profound meaning to living creatures, including young children and dogs that might not have been present. Nonetheless, similar to followers across the globe, she possessed an exceptional capacity to perceive her environment confirming her perspective (22). Mrs. Robinson reflects on the mutual memories between Joey and his first wife during their time at the farm; this serves as substantiation of her enduring faith in and appreciation for nature which she sought to impart on her children.

Mrs. Robinson recognizes that they will not embrace the concept of viewing land as a sacred, palpable gift. She emphasizes her profound relationship with agriculture and her hopes for Joey's future based on her viewpoint. However, he rejects his familial duties towards his mother, spouse, and children. His aim is to achieve his dreams while liberating himself from the shackles of history laid by his mother. His bond with nature transforms into an intense connection with his wife. From his perspective, the farm is perceived as a menace and a snare that jeopardizes his marital life.

Additionally, he values how the farm represents the freedom his mother bestowed upon him. Joey analogizes his love for his wife with his ownership of the land. To Joey, Peggy infuses life and happiness into his farm life. He reveals a deep connection with nature that ultimately transmutes into his bond with Peggy, saying: "Every dainty leap of dance by Black-Eyed Susans & daisy fleabane... was akin to flowers dispersing in front of the tractor wheels, moving as one like a universe created by my wheel's spin, then remaining as

drying vegetation behind me... My tractor was specked with foam and I was, gently swaying on the iron seat fashioned after a woman's torso, utterly alone in nature and as concealed under the glaring daytime sky as beneath midnight." (47) He perceives Peggy as a field. Reconciling his fresh admiration for the farm against his affection for Peggy is a challenge for him.

In his own words, Joey communicates his sense of weakness: "I regard myself as a Vulnerability" (49). Despite Mr. Robinson's innate affection for Richard and his suggestion to train him to assist with farm tasks, she disregards it. She is averse to the idea of Richard mirroring Joey. He eventually realizes that he will find it hard to balance his newfound love for the farm with his feelings for Peggy. He ruminates, "I understood it was inadvertent when she positioned herself between me and my fleeting perception of the farm as mine during autumn, the warmth from its leaves, its field hideaways and the gentle unendingness of its branches...

The incapability to simultaneously envision her and the farm seemed to be a defect in her, an inflexibility that I begrudgingly endured with little protest. (p124). Updike depicts America's previous generation through Mrs. Robinson, who thinks that being close to the land implies having a deep connection with God, instigating a country feeling. This concept, nonetheless, diminishes with the advent of the new generation embodied by Joey, who doesn't possess any rural upbringings. They were ready to surrender the farm to property developers for financial gain.

Updike portrays the typical American individual, who desires to carry out their wishes freely,

often disregarding their duties and abusing personal relationships. Each character is indicative of the average American populace's pursuit for individual satisfaction and liberty. These characters do not hold any association with the land or nature. Joey is an exemplification of America's self-gratifying young generation, while Mrs. Robinson symbolizes the older generation with her profound bucolic affection for her farm.

In the novel, echoes of the sexual relation between women and land are frequent and appear in the metaphor of women parallel to land. This metaphor is strongly tied to themes of sexuality, fertility and safety. The woman is invariably referred to as Peggy, while the land is identified as the old family-owned farmstead. Updike's experiences living in New England — primarily in Massachusetts, roughly twenty miles away from Boston — are evident as most of his stories are set there. He depicts various types of individuals and their respective behaviours and interactions within society. Some succumb to the temptations of the world, while a minority occasionally ponder over the moral ethics necessary for existence.

Instead of discussing the woods on rocks, Thoreau's Walden details his experience of living in the forest. Similarly, the mother figure in Of the Farm is attached to the land and soil rather than the natural beauty. Environmental issues can also be observed through literary experiences such as John Updike's final Rabbit Angstrom novel, Rabbit at Rest. In Rabbit at Rest, Updike's poetic appreciation for nature gets entangled with the commercialization of the physical world, which drives much of today's environmental and nature writing.