Necropolitics in Through the Arc of the Rainforest by Karen Tei Yamashita

Towards the close of 2019, humanity grappled with the swift dissemination of the novel COVID-19, instigating a global quarantine. Unfortunately, several nations, citing economic considerations, deferred decisive action, prioritizing capital over lives—a phenomenon labeled as 'necropolitics.' This very concept, eerily anticipated in artistic expressions such as Karen Tei Yamashita's 1990 novel, The Arc of the Rainforest, serves as the focal point of this article. Employing Ecocritical theory, this analysis aims to unravel the nuances of necropolitics embedded in Yamashita's narrative, presenting a unique perspective on its resonance amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.