Island, Identity, and Trauma: The Three Ecologies of Wu Ming-Yi’s ‘The Man With the Compound Eyes’

Abstract

Following Ivakhiv’s tri-ecological perspective, we undertake an analysis of Wu Ming-Yi’s ecological science fiction The Man with the Compound Eyes, which skillfully delineates a multi-faceted, three-dimensional network of island ecology via anthropomorphic, geomorphic, and biomorphic images. Through a sci-fi imaginary event in which a colossal trash vortex collides with the east coast of Taiwan, the book effectively unveils three profound ecological crises: the harrowing contamination of the island and oceanic ecology; the looming peril to ecocultural identity, stemming from the destruction of inhabited places; the psychological trauma inflicted by the encroachment of ecological colonization. Simultaneously, the work thoughtfully underscores humanity’s latent capacity for ecosophy and presents a vision of an ‘ecological posthumanism’.