A literary analysis of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope (2009) towards sustainable development through i-Sustainability Plus theory

Abstract

Through a close reading of William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer's book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, this paper examines the importance of literature as a medium of intercultural communication to address the theme of sustainable development. It aims to discern deeper meanings in the narrative by analyzing significant African thematic concerns, such as poverty, lack of education, environmental degradation, and hunger affecting underdeveloped societies such as Malawi. Drawing on Doost Mohammadian's i-Sustainability Plus Theory (2010), the research also explores how the story engages with and contributes to the sustainability debate. It attests to the importance of the seven pillars of sustainability development goals presented in the literary text in creating a more sustainable society, specifically Malawi. Hence, examining William's autobiography helps normalize the conversation about sustainability in literature and educates readers about the educational, economic, ecological, social, technical, cultural, and political challenges and hardships Malawi faces and ways to overcome them. In addition, this research intends to portray William's initiative idea as a possible SME (small and medium-sized enterprise), minor, independent initiatives which employ fewer than a given number of employees. According to Doost Mohammadian, SMEs are critical to economic, environmental, and social sustainability development, thus sustainable and successful SMEs, such as William's small innovativeness, with high productivity and efficiency can help develop inhabitable and sustainable living environments in developing societies such as Wimbe.