Abstract

Poverty is the root cause of exploitation of the poor at the hands of the rich in the root structure of the society that leads the poor towards the state of self-pity. This study is an interlink between the domains of World Englishes, Freudo-Marxist Literature, Trauma Literature and Postcolonial Literature. The postcolonial context of the subcontinent amidst language appropriation is the major theme that witnesses the phenomenon of exploitation and poverty through the canvas of Freudo-Marxist Literature. The current study attempts to find Marxist themes, predominantly exploitation and poverty, from a short story Death of an Insect by Zakia Mashhadi. The textual qualitative method of analysis proceeds under the operational theoretical lens of Edgar W. Schneider and Karl Marx. The former deals with textual analysis through language appropriation, while the latter deals with thematic analysis through the behaviour of the bourgeoisie towards the proletariat, respectively. The study has found that the upper class, for their vested interests, even for the satisfaction of their ego, brutally exploit the poor working class, who have to suffer and bear all inhuman behaviour without any resistance. Thus, this continuous Vicious Circle of exploitation and poverty cause difficulties and hardships for the poor class.

Key Words

Poverty, Exploitation, World Englishes, Freudo-Marxist Literature, Postcolonial Literature

Introduction

A multitude of writers understand and interpret society through the canvas of literature (Masood & Shafi, 2020b, p. 18). The themes of literature are very important for portraying emotions (Masood et al., 2020a, 2020c), and these emotions are the actual informers of society (Ahmed, 2021; Hassan, 2021; Shafi, 2019). Literary sociology is concerned with the agonies of the society as a crucial method in expressing the reality of those around it to its social associates (Ullah et al., 2020) by the creative use of language (Siddiq et al., 2021a, 2021b). In the same way, Death of an Insect by Zakia Mashhadi (2017) depicts the Freudo-Marxist themes of exploitation and poverty in the aforementioned Postcolonial manuscript. All the domains of society are connected to each other and affect one another in some way or another (Masood et al., 2020d). The main role of literature is to highlight the faults and errors of society and help in overcoming the faults (Masood et al., 2021). A similar phenomenon is adopted by Mashhadi in her writings.

Society comprises both the lower and the elite class. The unequal distribution of wealth mostly targets the lower class. The exploitation of the working class by the upper class and inequality between them results in the class struggle that can have a harmful impact, especially for the survival of the lower inferior class, and it gives an authority to the superior upper class to exploit the working class the way they want. Karl Marx condemns this brutality and presents the idea that if the wealth is distributed equally among the social classes, it can make up an ideal society.

According to Karl Marx, exploitation is a

practice in which the working class is exploited and is forced to work for the upper elites, sometimes even in the worse conditions and in return, they are ill-treated instead of appreciated in a way they deserve. The working class is treated as mere servants and is manipulated by the upper class. The theory of Karl Marx on poverty describes how, due to capitalism, a jobless and underclass society is formed, which plays its major role in resulting poverty. It also specifies the innocence and incapability of people that they are unaware of the fact that how they are being used and oppressed by the elite.

Poverty and exploitation are the prominent themes of the writings of the author of the subcontinent. Among them, Zakia Mashhadi is also a prominent Urdu writer who has contributed a lot to Urdu literature. The book, In Search of Butterflies, is edited and translated by Saeed Naqvi, which comprises English translations of many Pakistani Urdu writers. Her works mostly depict the conflicts between the lower poor and the upper elite. Her writings also condemn the cruel and brutal nature of the upper class, so they align with the Marxist philosophy in one way or another.

Problem Statement

Owing to exploitation and unequal distribution of wealth, many people suffer and are belittled. Exploitation done by the elite on the poor working class for their benefits results in disastrous consequences like injustice, poverty and unequal distribution of wealth among social classes. Numerous writers have talked about this subject, and the current study, under the light of the issue, is going to observe the short story Death of an Insect by Zakia Mashhadi and is going to point out the brutal attitude of the elite towards the abandoned, wretched and dejected poor workers. It is also going to highlight how the elite misuse and take advantage of the poverty of these ill-fated workers and insult them for it.

Research Objectives

The aims of the current research are delineated as under: 

i. To analyze the theme of exploitation of the lower class by the elite concerning the short story Death of an Insect by Zakia Mashhadi. 

ii. To analyze the theme of poverty regarding the short story Death of an Insect by Zakia Mashhadi. 

Significance of the Study

Since no research has been done on this short story so far, other researchers are going to be motivated to conduct their research on this story from multiple angles and viewpoints. The research is important because it brings awareness among people about how the lower class should be treated and given their basic rights. It highlights the issue of poverty and the chaos it causes due to the unequal distribution of wealth. This research study is a contribution to the field of literature, especially in understanding the short story Death of an Insect written by Zakia Mashhadi from a Marxist perspective

Literature Review

As defined in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2014), exploitation is “the fact of using a situation to get an advantage for yourself”. Poverty which fuels exploitation is defined by Davis and Sanchez (2014) that it is an inability to get the very basic services and goods which are obligatory for one’s survival and dignity in this society. Furthermore, “poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of (political) voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life".

Karl Marx (1818-1883), a sociologist and a German philosopher, with the aid of Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), has instituted a Marxist school of thought. The Communist Manifesto book was written by them in 1848 in which they described the rise of Communism, which can cope with history, economy and ideology. Numerous perspectives of Marxism are given to the world by Louis Althusser (1990), a French theoretician, like Structuralism and Freudo-Marxism. Evolving from Marxist ideology, it is proposed by Althusser that art is a precious thing that makes us aware of our existence in the world because art serves as the mirror of society. Owing to this proposition, the Marist ideology is extended on a theoretical level in literature. 

In the vast field of literary criticism, Marxism is taken as a very renowned and broad concept because it consists of different perspectives and concepts. One of the most notable Marxist perspectives is Feudalism. This term was used in economic characteristics in the 19th century. Coulburn defined Feudalism as a system that is neither social nor economic, but it is a method of government that is revamped by the social and economic environment. In this sort of government, the connection is fundamental among master and vassal, not within-subject and ruler nor state and citizen (Coulburn, 1956, pp. 2-4).

The proletariat is another concept that comes under the Marxist perspective. It defines that how the working class, after selling their labour-power to industrial productions, earns money. “This class would have characterized as the most oppressed passively suffering poverty-ridden class capable, at best, only of a desperate, hungry rebellion” (Azeri, 2013, pp. 2-3). 

Karl Marx focused on the rudimentary principles of history on the economic environments in which societies are developed. He believed that society is divided into two categories: those who own the means of producing wealth and those who do not, giving rise to class struggle. The Marxist theory states that poverty is a definite consequence of a capitalist society. He reasoned that poverty benefits the dominant class, as its assurances that there is always a labour force willing to agree to take low incomes. Townsend (1979) defined poverty as "the lack of the resources necessary to permit participation in the activities, customs and diets commonly approved by society." 

In the vast field of literary criticism, several studies have been done on Marxist perspectives. Ruman (2013) aided the discourse analysis of the text; he highlights the ruthless side of the white European savages who consider themselves the epitome of civilization. They viciously exploit the natives in the thirst for power and self-centred motives. They exploit the natives for their economic benefits; once their purpose is achieved, they discard them like a useless entity. 

Paikrao (2013) completed the thematic analysis of a novel; he concludes that predicaments and miseries of the poor class are because of neo-feudalism. Neo-Feudalist thrust subjugated class, particularly the women, to the extreme margin. The corrupt system gives rise to an upper class that is blind towards the suffering of the poor and indifferent to their struggle for social survival, but the opposite happens when they feel a social obligation to mourn the death of their relatives, they end up spending a handsome amount of money on their funerals. The poor working class is brutally exploited due to the extremely corrupt pastoral system of the dominant class just for vested interests. 

Exploitation and poverty are the core reasons that disintegrate the fabric of society. These aforesaid things are deeply rotted all over the world and especially in third world countries. To highlight the social exploitation by the mighty colonizer: Great Britain and the upper rich class of the poor working class, Sulochana, an Indo-Anglian writer, analyses different elements of the text like plot, character and themes (2014). He highlights that how the poor working class is considered sub-human and how they are heartlessly exploited when they are moved too far off jungle on demand of the White to sell their labour and to earn some livelihood. The researcher shows how the poor class is trampled and sexually abused by their master even after doing hard-hitting labour work all day only at a three-rupee price which is not even enough to buy any food item. The study of the researcher projects the extremely crooked system of class in the society, which allows the upper high class to exploit the poor working class. 

By following the approach of the historical aspect, which explains the relationship of history with a literary piece of writing, Fadli, Dahlan & Humairah conduct another study (2015)which highlights the ill-treatment and brutal exploitation of the Native American Indian by the white man, which caused poverty in the society. The study presents the wretched life of one of the Native American Indians who is forced to become a slave by the cruelty of the White. The Native poor American Indian who in miserable life does not even have money to pay the White doctor for the treatment of his child. By chance, he finds out a precious pearl and dreams to get his child educated, but the economy holder forces him to sell that pearl at a very low price, and on his refusal, he and his son are murdered by the White. The rich White upper class have everything, and they do not permit the poor Native American Indians even to get an education which is a basic right of everyone.

Injustice, class differences and numerous kinds of exploitation of the poor is highlighted by Sirsa (2015) by following the technique of thematic analysis. She underlines the cruel behaviour of the British colonizers with the native Indians. The powerful colonizers abuse and exploit the poor weak Indians. They do not have any sense of care for the poor natives. They just want to maintain a standard life for themselves and keep them in the form of servants and exploit their labour-power in a much-discounted amount. The downtrodden poor class is chastised violently even on stealing small food as a meal of a day. 

Jayasri and Reddy (2018) conducted an important study by following the theme of economic challenges and poverty in the novel Untouchable written by Anand. The researchers mention the behaviour of the upper class who ferociously exploit the poor low class. The working class is demeaned by the upper class. The researchers highlight how a low-class Punjabi faces ill-treatment just because he was begging for something to eat. He had to face horrendous remarks just because of entering a temple and a slap on just because he unconsciously touched the noble person. The fragile poor class is insensitively exploited and humiliated just due to their hapless. 

After doing the textual analysis of the novel Disgrace, Deivasigamani and Saravanan (2018) conducted their research which shows brutal exploitation and ill-treatment with women from oppressed, abandoned and suppressed classes in the form of mental and physical torture done by the corrupt patriarchal society. Those suppressed poor women are abused by the upper class and are pushed to work as prostitutes. They, due to deprivation, are forced to do humiliating jobs like keeping dogs. They are stigmatized by the upper class to such an extent that they choose seclusion because it’s the last option that is visible to them. 

Manaoui and Yezza (2017) conducted a study on the theme of poverty in Charles Dicken’s novel Oliver Twist. The subsequent study deals with poverty in British society that took place during the Victorian Era. It illustrates class differences and how society is divided into the lower and the upper class based on economy and wealth, leading to an imbalance in the society. Also, this study presented the prejudiced social system which is prevailed in British society. 

By using the technique of content analysis, a research study conducted by Erica Kazavangna (2018) analyses poverty depicted in King of the dump by Frederick Philander; the show isn’t over until by Vickson Hangula, To live a better life by Axaro Thaniseb and ‘The horizon is calling’ by Keamogetse Joseph Molapong. The rudimentary purpose of this research is to underlie poverty according to the above-mentioned plays. This study reveals that redundancy is a major cause of poverty. Poverty leads to starvation, causing the affected ones to turn to ill activities such as eating from the junkyard and using their bodies in exchange for favours to alleviate themselves from the yoke of poverty. 

The review provides instances of the application of the Marxist theory of exploitation and poverty in the domain of literature. Ill-treatment, degradation and discrimination is shown in society by the hands of the upper class through qualitative research. The above-mentioned issues are greatly dominant in the subcontinent’s literary works, which need to be explored. Based on this proposition, Zakia Mashhadi’s short story Death of an Insect needs a deeper and detailed study and analysis from a different perspective, and as such, offers a knowledge gap that is yet to be discovered. 

Research Methodology

The following unit outlines the underlying framework of the methodology involved during the conducted research. It comprises the sample for research, design and method of the research study, more specifically, the theoretical framework. In addition, this section also elaborates the procedure to be followed while conducting the respective research. The sample from which data is extracted for analysis and discussion is the short story Death of an Insect by Zakia Mashhadi. Zakia Hosain is one of the prominent female English literary figures because she applied themes of exploitation and poverty in her work which need to be explored.

Textual and thematic method of analysis is incorporated in this research with the Marxist perspective as the underlying paradigm while also seeking its instances. The nature of research is qualitative. Furthermore, all collection and analysis of data, along with the conclusions

devised are following the researcher’s viewpoint.

Framework: Theory of Poverty and Exploitation

For theoretical framework, it is based on multi-model operational analysis, which combines two distinct theories on two different subject matters to explain a single manuscript. Edgar W. Schneider’s Dynamic Model of Postcolonial Outer Circle Englishes (2018) is applied for the Indo-Pak English variety. The model is described as, “Exploitation colonization caused increased language contact, processes of structural nativization, and the emergence of “New Englishes” in “ESL” (English as a Second Language) countries, as described fundamentally in the “Dynamic Model” of the evolution of Postcolonial Englishes and generally found across Asia and Africa today” (Schneider, 2018, p. 42). 

The second postulate of the theory is based on Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1884 by Karl Marx, which states, “It is clear that the more the worker spends himself, the more powerful becomes the alien world of objects which he creates over and against himself, the poorer he – his inner world – becomes, and the less belongs to him as his own” (1959, p. 29). Karl Marx added, “The worker in his human functions no longer feels himself to be anything but an animal. What is animal becomes human and what is human becomes animal” (1959, p. 30).

The theoretical framework highlights the idea of poverty and exploitation that the poor working class is under the poverty line due to the attitude of the upper class. The lower class is considered nothing even though they put their sweat and blood into the work only to earn a few rupees, and the upper class takes advantage of their helplessness and exploits them brutally in every field of life for the sake of their vested interests. This exploitation is carried out by the use of language by colonizers or exploiters, and the same language becomes the part of literature in the form of language appropriation to portray what happened in the society. One can see the aforesaid elements of poverty and exploitation in the short story Death of an Insect by Zakia Mashhadi as one goes through the text of the story.

To take this research to its conclusion, the method that is followed by the researcher is to thoroughly read the short story Death of an Insect by Zakia Mashhadi and to ascertain the theme of poverty and exploitation through the Marxist perspective by taking the sample of data from the selected short story for analysis and discussion.

Data Analysis

In this section, the researcher deals with the analysis of data. Selected textual examples from In Search of Butterflies by Zakia Mashhandi translated by Saeed Naqvi are being analyzed under Marxist perspective: poverty and exploitation.  

The rich and the poor both are members of society throughout history. In some societies, the poor are honoured by the rich that they are the ones who work day and night so that the rich can eat. But things change as Plato says in Cratylus, “Everything changes, and nothing stands still”. In most societies being poor is a crime; wealthy members of the community exploit the poor whenever they want. They, based on wealth, even play with their emotions and use them for their vested interests. As Wilde says, “In war, the strong make slaves of the weak, and in peace, the rich make slaves of the poor”. So, poverty is the main cause of exploitation that makes the life of the poor miserable. All these things are prevalent in Zakia Mashhandi’s short story.

By following the theme of poverty and exploitation, which lie under Marxist perspective, in this project, the researcher has mentioned certain examples which show the behaviour of the wealthy class with the poor.




Text 1

“There isn’t enough money left even for salt… how can one buy oil” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 15)?

In the short story Death of an Insect, a poor man Dhena lives under the line of poverty which is depicted by the condition of his family that his son Pheko walked around naked for two years, Dhena himself walked barefoot for most of his life. The poverty was so severe that even half a kilogram of wheat would make them happy; they don’t remember when the last the family ate a full meal. They had to eat rats, and even a couple of them were just not enough for them. Shortage of food was as severe as mentioned by the writer:

“The boys have ghosts sitting in their stomachs” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 15).

As aforesaid quoted line shows that the food they get is so insufficient that they always remain hungry because, day by day, the children are growing up, so are their needs, but the quantity is never satisfying enough to fill their basic needs. The condition is so pathetic that they don’t even have enough money to buy salt, which is considered to be a very cheap product in the subcontinent, then, how can they manage to purchase necessary oil as well as an expensive product.

The poor working class and the upper class both are essential parts of human society. They go side by side until the balance is disturbed that takes the poor towards the more wretched condition, and the elite takes advantage of their misery and grows stronger. They do not care about the condition of the poor working class, which is forced to eat wild animals.




Text 2

“Millions of tons of grains in this country was eaten by rats, and this stupid man was asking how to increase their population” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 17).

The condition of the Dhena’s family is so worse that for their survival, they have to eat rats and snails. The team from Punjab Agricultural Institute visits Dhena’s village to conduct their research on how to reduce the up growing population of rats that is causing massive damage to the grains throughout the country. They are astonished when they find out very few rats in that particular village because due to poverty, the whole village survived on rats. Owing to poverty, Dhena is so concerned about his only survival of food that out of worry and that innocence, he asks the question as mentioned in the text: 

“Sir, can you tell us a way to increase the rat population” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 17)?

This very question from the mouth of the poor man has made the research team furious that they have been trying to find a way to decrease the population of rats because they are spoiling the millions of tons of grains in this country.

The elite class is so selfish that they keep storing grains until rats start feeding on them rather than distributing them among the poor people who have made rats their essential need just to survive. This shows the brutal and pitiless behaviour of the upper class towards the poor working class. Instead of realizing their worse condition and providing necessities, they laugh and mock them as mentioned in the text: “A very simple way of controlling the rat population: eat them” (Mashhadi, 2017,  p. 17)!

The situation goes worse when it is told by the team that the government has spent millions of rupees just to kill rats rather than using that money to provide necessities that are essential for their survival. This shows how the government, which consists of the upper class, is ignorant of the pathetic condition of poor people living under the poverty line. Karl Marx also has a similar point of view in Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts that the upper class treats the working class inhumanely and treats them like animals. 




Text 3

“She had walked two and a half miles to sift grain at their landlord’s daughter’s wedding. She alone cut eighty kilos of kathal, working for three days continuously. For her labour, she was given food twice a day, along with a large khaadi loin” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 18).

In every society, the upper class exploits the poor working class for their vested interests. They are forced to sell their labour at a very low rate. Dhena’s family, as mentioned in the quoted line, worked day and night just to get a meal twice a day which is a very unfair cost of their labour. The food, puris and sharbat, which considered to be very normal for the common people, but Dhena’s family do not even have a little image of such food in their minds as mentioned in the text: “He had never tasted a puri. He had not even seen one. Never drank sharbat” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 18).

Poverty forces Dhena’s wife to walk for almost three miles every day to sell her labour at a very cheap rate to the upper class. The money she gets for her hard labour is less than what she deserves, but she still feels obliged and happy for receiving khadi because poverty was so worse that a single cloth was fulfilling their wretched condition. As mentioned by the writer: “He [Pheko] had walked around naked for two years – stark naked – until he started wearing a loincloth that his mother got for him” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 17).

She is unaware of the fact that she is being exploited by the upper class and not given what she deserves. The upper class who has all the assets is not ready to give the deserving cost of labour to the working class, and the worse is that they exploit their helplessness and take advantage of it. The upper class who acts like animals forces the poor working class to work like animals, as mentioned by Marx.




Text 4

“Thirty-year-old Dhena placed the slippers on his head and ran like a child to show them to his wife and children” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 19).

The landlord Mishraji takes advantage of the devastating condition of Dhena and asks him to take part in a procession for him, and in return, he will be rewarded with the following things:

“You will get eight rupees, sharbat (a sweet drink), and a tray full of puris (fried bread) and vegetable to eat,’ Mishraji had promised before leaving” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 15).

By offering these little things, capitalist society knows how to manipulate and control the poor working class. Such trivial things are valuable for Dhena, but for the upper class, these invaluable things are the tools of controlling them and forcing them to work according to their interest. 

Dhena, who has spent walking barefoot throughout his life acted like a child when he was given a pair of invaluable slippers made of the tyre. During his whole life, even after working day and night, he never has enough money to buy even a pair of slippers for himself that’s why; he’s not used to this kind of luxury, as mentioned in the text:

“His feet protested; they were not used to slippers--- they were calloused, black, and cracked like that bed of an empty pond” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 19).

This trivial gift from the landlord is such a big deal for Dhena that he gets excited and acts like a child at the age of thirty. He puts the slippers on his head and runs towards his family to show them something that his family has never had. The poor condition and the helplessness of this family lead the upper class to exploit and use them for their vested interests.




Text 5

“’ Don’t leave’—the leaders had already instructed the procession. It is alright if the police use batons” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 21).

Mishraji, the landlord, uses his power and wealth to manipulate the poor people to come and take part in his procession for revolution and raise the slogan “Long Live, Long Live” on the cost of puris and sharbat. Poor people don’t even realize that such processions can take the lives of innocent people. 

March, which included all the lower poor class, is stopped by the police. These poor people are innocent, and they don’t know what they are doing and for what cause. Their situation is mentioned by the writer as: “They carry their leaders on their backs like donkeys carrying bags full of dirt” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 21).

Mishraji, the landlord, controls the weaker ones by providing them just sharbat, ordering them not to leave or move at any cost even if the police start baton charge. However, he knows that many of the innocent poor people might get killed by the police. Such type of exploitation has existed throughout history that the leaders from the upper class exploit the poor people by just providing them insignificant things which mean a lot to them.




Text 6

“He neither had a penny in his pocket nor much grey matter inside his skull” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 22).

The police have started the baton charge on the innocent people who are driven to this place for the procession by the powerful leader at the cost of trivial things. Leaders disappear, and chaos is the only thing that could be seen there. The only people who are affected by the chaos and the police are the poor lower class people because they are misused and exploited by their rich landlords for their economic gains. Owing to the disturbance and chaos caused by the police Dhena forgets that he cannot reach his village without Mishraji’s help. The poor innocent Dhena runs “like a rein free camel” with empty pockets and a confused mind until he is run over by a police jeep. No one takes him to the hospital. Even the wealthy man who has gained his benefit shows no concern on the missing of Dhena as mentioned in the text: “He did not stop to think whether he was one man short in the count” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 22). The upper class use the lower working class to gain their benefits. They are openly exploited and treated like animals by the rich. The landlord allures the poor for their vested interests. They regarded them as invaluable assets when their work was done. 




Text 7

“An angry Sirju loaded the body onto a cart and, in the darkness of night, carried it to the Gumti River. Ruthlessly, he dragged Dhena’s body onto the ground and removed the body bag made of cloth” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 23).

The victim of brutal exploitation, Dhena, whose dead body is kept in a government morgue for three days, where he remains unidentified. The only assert which Dhena has was his identity, but after death, the wealthy class even snatched his identity as mentioned in the text: “When it remained unidentified, sixty rupees were sanctioned from the government fund for his cremation” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 22).

Under the eye of the government, people live in such miserable conditions that for their survival, they have to eat rats, but the government does not show any concern to them, but when a person loses his life under the circumstances which are also generated by the government, they give sixty rupees for the completion of the burial process to show how much they care about their citizens. The rich upper class only shows sympathy to the dead one. But some powerful people remain selfish and greedy. They don’t even spare the dead body. Dehna, whose only crime is that he belongs to the poor working class, is treated inhumanely even after his death. Sirju, the undertaker, dragged his dead body onto the ground and removed the bag from his body which was provided by the government to show sympathy and care. Instead of giving him a proper burial and spending sixty rupees for the dead body of poor Dhena, Sirju prefers to take all the money and does an inhuman act as the writer has mentioned in the text:

 “There you go, rest at the bottom of Maharaj Gumti’s lap. May God be with you. Why did you come here? To die? With these parting words, Sirju pulled Dhena straight and pushed him over the bridge” (Mashhadi, 2017, p. 23).

After giving this cold-hearted treatment, Sirju, with his sixty rupees and a sheet of cloth, heads to a tavern. He brutally exploits the body of a poor working-class Dhena as Marx mentions in his theory that human turns into an animal so it can be seen how Sirju adopts animalistic characteristics. Throughout the history, poor always suffer, and so does Dhena even after his death. Instead of whirling down straight in the water, his body gets stuck in the girders of the bridge. Mishraji, the landlord for whom Dhena came to the city to take part in the procession, does not dare to know where Dhena is when his personal gain is achieved. 

Conclusion Implications and Futuristic Vision

In a nutshell, poverty and exploitation are making the poor lower class fall prey to the Vicious Circle laid by the elite upper class. The current study found Marxist elements related to the themes of exploitation and poverty in Zakia Mashhadi, 2017Death of An Insect. The current study meets the set objectives and answers the research questions related to exploitation and poverty, respectively. The study discovered that the ruling elite violently exploits the impoverished working class for their financial interests, even for the fulfilment of their vanity, who must undergo and endure any cruel behaviour without opposition. The impoverished class faces difficulties and hardships as a result of exploitation and poverty.

The domains of World Englishes, Freudo-Marxist Literature, Trauma Literature, and Postcolonial Literature are all intertwined in this research. The story delves into the postcolonial environment of the subcontinent, as well as the language appropriation of the writers of South Asia. The current study opens the way to stylistic analysis as to what type of words are used for the poor by the upper class. Moreover, the researcher also suggests analyzing the manuscript of Death of an Insect under the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis. This study can be implicated in different literary writings of different regions of the world. These studies are necessary to investigate society through the canvas of literature for the exploration and solution of problems of the society.

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