Although not a contemporary prerogative, concern for ecosystems and their protection has become more active, organized, and efficient in the 20th and 21st centuries. Environmental activism, dedicated to the defense of terrestrial ecosystems, manifests in multiple ways across the most diverse spheres: political, social, governmental, and aesthetic. In the latter, we can point to literary manifestations that address environmental activism. Such is the case with Imbolo Mbue’s novel, How Beautiful We Were (2022). The narrative explores the relevance of activism to fight environmental injustice. This paper examines how Mbue’s work engages with themes addressed by Ecocritical and Decolonial Studies, such as the exploitation of natural resources, environmental degradation, ecological activism, resistance to the Colonial Matrix of Power (CMP) (Quijano 2010; Mignolo, Walsh 2018), and decolonial activism. This investigation analyzes the interrelations among plot, characters, setting, narrative voice, figurative and symbolic elements, and how these elements connect to the effects of human actions in the Anthropocene. It also examines the prevalence of the Colonial Matrix of Power as a determining factor in the characters’ behaviors and attitudes. From this perspective, we can infer that the novel establishes a correlation between colonial violence and environmental degradation, demonstrating how the CMP operates. The characters’ activism is an attempt to defend and save their way of life, as they experience hopelessness and the possibility of annihilation while witnessing the disappearance of the world they know through the criminal exploitation of its natural resources.

Authors:
Delzi Alves Laranjeira, State University of Minas Gerais, Brazil

About the Presenter(s)
Delzi Laranjeira is a tenured literature professor at the State University of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. Currently, her research focuses on ecocritical studies, analyzing literary works dealing with the consequences of climate change.

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