Relevance of Nature in Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s The River Between: An Ecocritical Perspective.

Abstract

In all his writings Ngugi wa Thiong’o focused on the historical aspects of the African continent particularly Kenya. Through his writings, he always tried to reestablish the notions and beliefs which have been misinterpreted by Western writers and thinkers about the African continent and its people. Ngugi’s motif was to make the entire world aware of the rich culture, tradition, religion, myths, customs, and social norms of African people. African continent has been blessed with the prosperity of natural resources. Vast landscapes, waterfalls, rivers, dense forests, and deserts are abundantly found in Africa. In the novels of Ngugi nature has significant relevance where characters of his novels establish harmony with nature. The characters of Ngugi mostly belong to tribal and rural areas where their lives are deeply engrossed with nature. The novel The River Between has an echo of an eco-critical phenomenon where multitudes of ecocritical aspects can be explored. The title itself indicates the importance of rivers in the novel. In this novel, the relationship between characters of novels with the ridges, valleys, landscapes, forests. and rivers is highly profound and helpful for Ngugi to develop the motif of the novel. The paper will explore the impact of nature on the Kenyan people and how the myths and social norms of Kenyan people are associated with nature. The paper will also seek the impact of colonization on the natural resources of Kenya. The paper will examine this novel and Ngugi wa Thiong’o as a writer from the perspective of Eco-consciousness.