The Quest for Social Justice in Meja Mwangi's The Cockroach Dance
Résumé
Through the analysis of Dusman Gonzaga's revolt against the exploitation insti-tutionalized by the " faceless ones " who rule their society in The Cockroach Dance (1979), this essay examines the quest that underpins his revolt. Not being satisfied with his living conditions in a squalid tenement building called Dacca House which he shares with other tenants, Dusman Gonzaga stands up to ask why they wallow in misery while the others find gorgeous ways and means to exploit them and live in abundance. This essay, therefore, points out the inhuman conditions in which the tenants of Dacca House live, and through them the case of the " wretched of the earth " , the dejected, the perpetual victims of the selfishness and the arrogance of the " Lords " of their society. Through Dusman's quest and revolt, the dissonance and the exploitation that become the rules of his society are voiced.
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