Characterization and Presentation of Capitalist Environmental Destruction: A Critical Reading of Austin Bukenya’s A Hole in the Sky (2013) and Okiya Omtatah’s Voice of the People (2007)
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Date
2023-12
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EANSO
Abstract
This paper investigates how playwrights employ characterization to illuminate
acts of capitalist environmental destruction in Austin Bukenya’s A Hole in the
Sky (2013) and Okiya Omtatah’s Voice of the People (2007). The central idea
is to examine the presentation of environmental destruction and the critical
responses as dramatized through character articulation. The paper is premised
on Ecofeminist and Eco-Marxist theoretical frameworks. The proponents of
Ecofeminist theory are Karen J. Warren, Vandana Shiva, Greta Gaard, Carolyn
Merchant and Ynestra King, whereas those of the Eco-Marxist framework are
John Bellamy Foster, Herbert Marcuse and Paul Burkett. Ecofeminists argue
that there is a close interrelation between women and nature. The theorization
is that there is an interconnection between women and nature, particularly
regarding their nurturing abilities, exploitation, and liberation. The paper
contends that the twin-exploitation aspect of ecofeminism portrays acts of
domination wrought by patriarchy and capitalism. Eco-Marxists expound on
the exploitation aspect by linking ecological destruction to unbridled
capitalism. The article uses qualitative methodology whereby the plays were
purposively sampled and thematic analysis was done to examine the
articulation of characters in depicting environmental destruction. The study
establishes that playwrights have appropriately used their characters to
illuminate environmental degradation. The depiction of characters as either
conservationists or agents and orchestrators of environmental destruction help
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Edwin, K., Chetambe, M. & Muhia, M.(2023). Characterization and Presentation of Capitalist Environmental Destruction: A Critical Reading of Austin Bukenya’s A Hole in the Sky (2013) and Okiya Omtatah’s Voice of the People (2007)”. East African Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 6(2), 375-389. https://doi.org/10.37284/eajass.6.2.1632