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Ecological Imagination in Henry Ole Kulet’s the Elephant Dance

Received: 15 July 2022    Accepted: 1 August 2022    Published: 15 August 2022
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Abstract

The discourse surrounding the environment is an important one because mankind has a symbiotic relationship with nature. Preservation of the indigenous environment is therefore a key aspect in ensuring quality of life. Human beings thus have a duty to protect the ecosystem in order to make the universe a safe haven for man, flora and fauna. While this is so, a lot of human effort is required to mitigate environmental deterioration and ensure optimal ecosystem through conservation of the indigenous environment. At the heart of Ole Kulet’s The Elephant Dance is the question of ecological sobriety. This paper is therefore a reading of Ole Kulet’s indigenous art and eco-literary thoughts depicted in the novel. The paper interrogates the impediments of a suitable ecology as represented in the novel and examines the ways in which Kulet resolves the issues. The analysis of the text is guided by eco-criticism theory which illuminates the nexus between literature and ecology. Kulet’s literary engagement with the environment in this novel contributes to the debate around nature conservancy and the need to protect the indigenous environment. This research concludes that Kulet captures precisely the environmental crisis in The Elephant Dance and offers hope of a better ecosystem. The paper will be a modest contribution to extant studies on ecology.

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 10, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijla.20221004.18
Page(s) 252-256
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Ecology, Ecocriticism, Indigenous Environment, Imagination

References
[1] Definition of environment (2003). In Cambridge dictionary. Cambridge University Press.
[2] (1999). United Nations Environment Program UNEP. International Organizations.
[3] Yasin, A. M. (2011). Effects of refugees on the natural environment: A case study of Dadaab refugee camp, Garissa district (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
[4] Clark, T. (2011). The Cambridge introduction to literature and the environment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[5] (2012) Nigerian Tribune Report.
[6] Tchatchou, B., Sonwa, D. J., Ifo, S. & Tiani, A. M. (2015. Deforestation and forest degradation in the Congo basin. CIFOR.
[7] Geist, H. J. & Lambin, E. F. (2001). What drives tropical deforestation? A meta-analysis of proximate and underlying causes of deforestation based on subnational case study evidence. pp. xiii-116. LUCC Report Series No. 4.
[8] Phillips, D. (1999). Ecocriticism, literary theory, and the truth of ecology. New Literary History, 30 (3), 577-602.
[9] Rueckert, W. (1978). Literature and ecology: An experiment in ecocriticism. Iowa Review, 9(1), 71-86.
[10] Buell, L., Heise, U. K., & Thornber, K. (2011). Literature and environment. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 36, 417-440.
[11] Eco, U. (1990). Travels in hyperreality. New York, NY: HarperVia.
[12] Kulet, H. (2016). The Elephant Dance. Nairobi, Kenya: Longhorn Publishers.
[13] White, L. (1973). The historical roots of our ecological crisis. In Barbour, I (Ed.), Western Man and Environmental Ethics. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
[14] Lan, D. (1985). Guns and rain: Guerillas and spirit mediums in Zimbabwe. London: Currey.
[15] Watkins, D. (2011). Poetic justice. Polity, 1-29.
[16] Rhymer, T. (1972). The tragedies of the last age. London: Scolar Press.
[17] Shiva, V. (1989). Staying alive: Women, ecology and development. London: Zed Books.
[18] Vallely, B. (1991). Women, health and the environment. Health visit, 64(2): 44-6.
[19] Kopecky, S. E. (2001). Music and the Soul: Psychological effects (Unpublished bachelor’s thesis). Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA.
[20] Shirey, J. (2001). Personal Interview.
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  • APA Style

    Ahmed Osman Warfa, Lester Mwetu. (2022). Ecological Imagination in Henry Ole Kulet’s the Elephant Dance. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 10(4), 252-256. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221004.18

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    ACS Style

    Ahmed Osman Warfa; Lester Mwetu. Ecological Imagination in Henry Ole Kulet’s the Elephant Dance. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2022, 10(4), 252-256. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221004.18

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    AMA Style

    Ahmed Osman Warfa, Lester Mwetu. Ecological Imagination in Henry Ole Kulet’s the Elephant Dance. Int J Lit Arts. 2022;10(4):252-256. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20221004.18

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijla.20221004.18,
      author = {Ahmed Osman Warfa and Lester Mwetu},
      title = {Ecological Imagination in Henry Ole Kulet’s the Elephant Dance},
      journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
      volume = {10},
      number = {4},
      pages = {252-256},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20221004.18},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20221004.18},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20221004.18},
      abstract = {The discourse surrounding the environment is an important one because mankind has a symbiotic relationship with nature. Preservation of the indigenous environment is therefore a key aspect in ensuring quality of life. Human beings thus have a duty to protect the ecosystem in order to make the universe a safe haven for man, flora and fauna. While this is so, a lot of human effort is required to mitigate environmental deterioration and ensure optimal ecosystem through conservation of the indigenous environment. At the heart of Ole Kulet’s The Elephant Dance is the question of ecological sobriety. This paper is therefore a reading of Ole Kulet’s indigenous art and eco-literary thoughts depicted in the novel. The paper interrogates the impediments of a suitable ecology as represented in the novel and examines the ways in which Kulet resolves the issues. The analysis of the text is guided by eco-criticism theory which illuminates the nexus between literature and ecology. Kulet’s literary engagement with the environment in this novel contributes to the debate around nature conservancy and the need to protect the indigenous environment. This research concludes that Kulet captures precisely the environmental crisis in The Elephant Dance and offers hope of a better ecosystem. The paper will be a modest contribution to extant studies on ecology.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    AB  - The discourse surrounding the environment is an important one because mankind has a symbiotic relationship with nature. Preservation of the indigenous environment is therefore a key aspect in ensuring quality of life. Human beings thus have a duty to protect the ecosystem in order to make the universe a safe haven for man, flora and fauna. While this is so, a lot of human effort is required to mitigate environmental deterioration and ensure optimal ecosystem through conservation of the indigenous environment. At the heart of Ole Kulet’s The Elephant Dance is the question of ecological sobriety. This paper is therefore a reading of Ole Kulet’s indigenous art and eco-literary thoughts depicted in the novel. The paper interrogates the impediments of a suitable ecology as represented in the novel and examines the ways in which Kulet resolves the issues. The analysis of the text is guided by eco-criticism theory which illuminates the nexus between literature and ecology. Kulet’s literary engagement with the environment in this novel contributes to the debate around nature conservancy and the need to protect the indigenous environment. This research concludes that Kulet captures precisely the environmental crisis in The Elephant Dance and offers hope of a better ecosystem. The paper will be a modest contribution to extant studies on ecology.
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Author Information
  • Department of Curriculum & Instruction, Garissa University, Garissa, Kenya

  • Department of Arts & Social Sciences, Garissa University, Garissa, Kenya

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