Sociological Reflections and Egalitarian Impulse in Tess Onwueme’s The Desert Encroaches

Abstract

Literature serves as a reflective mirror that illuminates societal paradigms while concurrently wielding the transformative potential to challenge and reshape prevailing socio-political and cultural constructs. Placing Nigeria as a microcosm of the larger African society, this study examines Tess Onwueme’s play, The Desert Encroaches with a view to exploring the nexus between her dramatic art and the African societal realities. Through the highly allegorical characters and their interactions, Onwueme highlights the tension between the lesser and higher animals, a metaphor for the various social strata in the society. It also reflects on the imperatives of socio-political change. The broad theoretical framework for this study is the sociological theory of literary criticism and Marxism as a subset. The study employs the qualitative method of content analysis to examine the themes and characters of the play. Findings from the study show that the themes of the play are relevant to contemporary issues, while the allegorical characters exemplify how Onwueme uses individual experiences to illustrate broader societal concerns.  The study concludes that The Desert Encroaches is a powerful work of literature that offers a commendable insight into the challenges facing Nigerian society and strives towards egalitarianism.