An Analysis of Nature as an Actant in the Emperor Jones

This article examines the emperor jones from an ecocritical reading through presenting distinctive human-nonhuman interactions. nonhuman materials are used as the prominent setting atmosphere in the play and they have direct effects on the characters and the plot. this article attempts to propose the significance of nature as one of the nonhuman materials in the play. in fact nature does not only constitute the setting of the play, but it also stands as a dominant characteristic feature especially when significant interactions occur between character(s) and place. this dominant effect of nature is analyzed on the basis of a. j. gremias’ actant model. this article tries to portray the mutual effects between human and non-human interactions in the play by taking an earth-centered approach to the text and critiquing the anthropocentric point of view about nature and human beings. thus, the voice of nature and the perceptions of the voice by human beings are reflected in the paper by making use of gremias’ structuralist theory.