Concepts of Home and Place Attachment in Young Adult Literature One Shady Tree Under Which We Are Small by Pannaree: An Ecocritical Study

Abstract

This academic article presents an analysis of the concepts of home and place attachment in relation to the formation of ecological identity in the young adult novel One Shady Tree Under Which We Are Small by Pannaree. Utilizing ecocriticism and Scannell and Gifford’s tripartite model of place attachment as the theoretical framework, the study examines the redefinition of “home” from a mere physical structure to an integrated ecosystem that sustains all life. The analysis reveals that “Grandpa Tree” (Khun Pu Tonmai) serves as a central nexus for emotional and spiritual bonds. Through the literary device of personification, the narrative facilitates a profound ethical shift in the characters from anthropocentrism to biocentrism, leading to the construction of a robust ecological identity. However, when these cherished spaces are threatened by development driven by economic logic, characters undergo “solastalgia” and “ecological helplessness,” reflecting the psychological vulnerability of youth amidst environmental crises. The article concludes that young adult literature serves as a vital intellectual space for critiquing human-centered worldviews and proposes a sustainable pathway for forging new relationships between humans and the “more-than-human world.”