The Wild Animal’s Story: Nonhuman Protagonists in Twentieth-Century Canadian Literature through the Lens of Practical Zoocriticism

particularly crucial for any literature attempting the daunting (but imperative) 
task of imagining the lives, perspectives, and experiences of nonhuman 
individuals. What John Simons called “the imaginative and speculative acts of 
literature” (7) may be our greatest tool for promoting the ethical treatment of 
other animals, as well as increased understanding of their particular cognitive, 
emotional, and social complexities. 
The framework that I have developed, practical zoocriticism, has enabled a 
reading of the wild animal story that prioritizes the imagined presence of the 
nonhuman animal. As such, I have been able to expose the ways in which 
anthropocentric interpretations have repeatedly undermined both the authors’ 
commitments to imagining the lives of animals and their attempts to engage 

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with the contemporary discourses of animal rights, wildlife conservation, and 
animal psychology. Using an interdisciplinary investigation, I have uncovered 
the various contextual factors that influenced both the creation of the genre and 
the criticisms it received during the Nature Fakers dispute. The charge of 
‘anthropomorphism’ was used throughout the controversy, and I have traced the 
continued stigma of its association with the wild animal story. These negative 
connotations have often been expressed by literary critics through the language 
of embarrassment, distain, anxiety, or discomfort, which 
perpetuate the genre’s 
marginalization. By re-defining and re-contextualizing the wild animal story I 
have illuminated the unique contribution made by Seton and Roberts and their 
profound impact on subsequent Canadian literature. Through my framework, I 
have demonstrated that the innovative zoocentrism of the six twentieth-century 
novels (addressed in the latter chapters of this thesis) ought to be recognized 
as extensions of the wild animal story. Finally, I conclude that current cross-
disciplinary work in 
animal studies allows us to appreciate the genre’s potential 
for productive scientific-engagement, as originally envisioned by Seton and 
Roberts.