Ecocritical Analysis of Tanure Ojaide’s the Activist and Kaine Agary’s Yellow-Yellow.
ABSTRACT
Ecocoritical studies intensely show the relationship between man’s environment and literature. In this way, ecocriticism becomes a standpoint that brings environmental discourse to the fore within a literary context; a context that shows the exploitation and decay in man’s environment.
Following this assertion, the themes that border on environmental degradation are routed in migration, pipeline vandalism, blowouts owing to gas flares and pollution.
Most of the analyses on the concept of ecocriticism take the direction of the greenish nature of the environment and the extent of the marginalisation of a people.
This research views ecocritism from a different perspective. It depicts ecocritism as a theory that deploys the tools of ecoactivism and resistance in the reading and analyses of Tanure Ojiade’s The Activist and Kaine Agary’s Yellow-Yellow.
It also shows the manner in which humans strive to unchain themselves from the manacles that hold them bondage by resisting the discourse of ecotrauma.
This study also delves into the negative impacts of oil activities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria by connecting the ecocritical patterns of ecoactivism and resistance to the utterances and actions of the characters in the texts.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page– ii
Approval—— iii
Certification—— iv
Dedication——– v
Acknowledgements— vi
Table of Contents——– vii
Abstract— viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study——— 1
- Statement of the Problem– 3
- Purpose of the Study—- 4
- Purpose of the Study—– 5
- Significance of the Study– 5
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Literature Review—- 7
CHAPTER THREE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY
- Theoretical Framework… 24
- Ecocritism——- 25
- Methodology——- 29
CHAPTER FOUR: TEXTUAL ANALYSES OF THE ACTIVIST AND YELLOW- YELLOW
- The Discourse of Ecoactivism and Resistance in Tanure Ojaide’s The Activist——- 31
- The Discourse of Ecoactivism and Resistance in Kaine Agary’s Yellow-Yellow—– 42
- The Protagonists in The Activist and Yellow-Yellow : Two Souls in One Wilderness– 50
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Tanure Ojaide, Kaine Agary and the Ken Saro-Wiwa Cause–51
5.3Summary and Conclusion 53
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Man cannot be separated from his environment because his perception and interaction with his surrounding make up his being. The destruction of the natural things that surround man is caused by man himself by the acts of destroying and recreating his habitat.
Thus, ecocritical studies examine the way in which humans and the natural environment interact and counter each other.
Byron Caminero-Santangelo will comment in his essay that ‘Laurence Coupe sees ecocritism as an approach to literature which considers the relationship between human and non-human life as represented in literary texts and which theorizes about the place of literature in the struggle against environmental destruction’ (705).
The Niger Delta region of Nigeria is rich in crude oil, but it is in a state of omnishambles because of ecological problems.
The discovery, exploration and exploitation of oil in the region have affected agriculture, fishing as well as the living conditions of the people. With the leakage of oil from pipes and its spillage into lands, farms, and water, the Niger Deltans are faced with a threatening disaster.
REFERENCES
Adelana, S.O. ‘Environmental Pollution and Remediation: Challenges and Management of Oil Spillage in the Nigerian Coastal Areas’. American Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research. 2. 8 (2011): 285. Print.
Agarwal, H.O. International Law and Human Rights. Allahabad: Central Law publications, 1999. 285. Print.
Agary, Kaine. Yellow-Yellow. Lagos: Dtalkshop, 2006. Print.
Akinbode, A. Introduction to Environmental Resource Management. Ibadan: Daybis Publishers, 2002. 2. Print.
Amuta, Chidi. Towards a Sociology of African Literature. Oguta: Zim Pan, 1986. 39. Print.