Humans and Animals: A Relationship of Ambivalence

Abstract

The discussions pertaining to the human-animal relationship have received due academic attention and become a subject of great interest. Animal Studies is an emerging and interdisciplinary area of research focusing on the relationship between humans and animals. These studies are imperative in changing the attitude of humans towards animals. The human-animal relationship is a complex and challenging one because of the similarity and dissimilarity of humans and animals, as they are attached and detached from each other. The students of animal studies are much concerned about this phenomenon of closeness and distance, as well as similarity and difference. Notwithstanding the fact that animals are an indispensable part of the environment, recent climatic changes have threatened many species of animals. Some species ceased to exist while others are on the verge of extinction. Animals share an important role in the ecosystem as well as in the biodiversity in sustaining the planet, and without them the existence of the biosphere is impossible. Animals play an indispensable role in maintaining ecosystems by various means such as pollinating, seed-dispersing, fertilizing the earth by their droppings and maintaining the food chain. This paper is an attempt to understand the role and function of animals in the short stories of Ruskin Bond.