A comparative analysis of the relationship between nature and humans in chinua achebe’s things fall apart and dominic mulaisho’s tongue of the dumb.
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Date
2020
Authors
Muyumba, Victor
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia.
Abstract
This study was concerned with establishing and investigating the similarities and differences in the relationship between nature and humans in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Dominic Mulaisho’s The Tongue of the Dumb. Further, it was concerned with establishing the significance of such similarities and differences in light of African literature and ecological content. In pursuing this key aim of the study, the researcher adopted a qualitative research design with desk research as the main means of data collection. The main means of analysing the two selected texts were the ecocritical and social constructionist approaches, with the former being the overarching theoretical tool. The findings revealed that, first, the Igbo and Nsenga people as presented in Things Fall Apart and Tongue of the Dumb respectively are both associated with nature-cultures and nature-religions. In their interaction with nature they ensure that there is harmony with nature and their religions are means of establishing an equilibrium in the delicate act of interacting with nature and natural phenomena. In both cases the ancestral spirits and gods are a key bridge between nature and humans. Second, in both texts the people are so close to nature that they personify it. Nature possesses the capacity to express emotions and to speak through various natural phenomena. Third, both texts exhibit an ambivalence, on the part of the people, in their attitude to natural phenomena – sometimes they perceive nature as friendly and at other times as a bitter destructive foe. Fourth, in both texts land is a central aspect of the people’s interaction with nature. Both the Igbo and Nsenga practise a land-based culture. While there are major similarities in the findings from the two texts, the differences are few and minor. One difference is that there is a more explicit portrayal of witchcraft in Tongue of the Dumb than in Things Fall Apart. In the former, witches are believed to have the power to manipulate nature and natural phenomena while in the former such belief is only implied. Further, while in the former destructive floods are among the means by which nature expresses its anger or dissatisfaction with the people, in the latter there are no floods. The findings suggest that the greater number of similarities compared to differences is due mainly to the fact that both texts deal with traditional African societies with similar ecophilosophies. The findings, however, cannot and should be applied to all African traditional societies but specifically to the two texts that were studied.
Description
Thesis of Master of Arts in Literature