Dispossessed Lands and Displaced Lives: An Ecocritical Study of Colonial Trauma in Ngugi wa Thiong'o's Weep Not, Child
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The research paper aims to critically explore the blended themes of ecological displacement and colonial trauma in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Weep Not, Child. It uses an ecocritical lens that emphasises the environmental and psychological consequences of British colonial rule in Kenya. It vividly depicts the seizing of indigenous possessions, an act that not only caused environmental destruction but also imposed deep psychological traumas on relocated indigenous groups. The study demonstrates the inextricable link between environmental concerns and sociopolitical battles in postcolonial Kenya by examining the effects of land alienation, ecological damage and indigenous resistance movements. Likewise, the study investigates colonial agricultural policy, forced labour and resource exploitation which increased environmental degradation and social discontent. It uses Postcolonial Ecocriticism and Trauma Theory to explore the devastating impact of land dispossession on identity, cultural memory and resistance narratives. Finally, it emphasises the novel’s significance in exposing colonial ecological cruelty and arguing for ecological and native cultural recovery.
Authors: S. Amirtha, Dr B. Ajantha
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6930549710
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