Keywords
Climate change, refugees, migration, John Lanchester
Abstract
John Lanchester's The Wall, set in a dystopian future wrought by climate change, was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize. When compared to other works in the same genre, this cli-fi dystopia seems stale and unoriginal. This article looks at the various fictional and nonfictional works that have recently reflected on the potential impacts of climate change. The work is analysed in light of the findings of climate migration descant, which focus on migrant agencies, climate fiction, and human rights. The Wall forces us to evaluate the extreme dispersion outside of institutional control standards. Focusing on The Wall's portrayal of post-apocalyptic refugees, this article challenges common assumptions about human nature, investigates the mindset required to survive in the aftermath of a catastrophic event, and reveals the societal norms that underpin such a perspective.
