THE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH: INVESTIGATING THE LETHAL CONSEQUENCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION IN IFEOMA OKOYE’S THE FOURTH WORLD

Abstract

Environment refers to the totality surrounding a substance or a person's existence and the way they relate to the world. It is no longer news that our environment is under pillage and constant abuse, a situation that has not only become worrisome but threatening too. This has also made ecological issue one of the most discussed issues in recent times as man sits on a ticking bomb due to constant exploitation and abuse of the environment. As expected, writers, both African writers and writers elsewhere have all taken turn to explore, capture and treat the problems of exploitation as it affects society. This paper investigates the lethal consequences of environmental abuse and exploitation not just on the environment but on individuals as fictitiously but conscientiously explored in Ifeoma Okoye’s The Fourth World. The crux of the argument in this study is that the problems of environment transcend from physical pollution to other social problems that pollute the lives of individuals, thwart their desired lives and dreams and at the long run contribute to an unhealthy society. With eco-criticism as theoretical anchor, the study concludes on how these occurrences proved pivotal in altering the lives of the citizens, with society at the receiving end of it all.