ECOLOGICAL MOTIFS AS STYLISTIC EXTENSION IN HELON HABILA’S OIL ON WATER

Abstract

This research has examined ecological motifs as stylistic extension in interpreting and depicting human relationships with the environment. The study has explored plot and diction as aspects of style visible in the representation of setting as an ideological landscape for environmental degradation and human exploitation in Helon Habila’s Oil on Water (2010). The semantic interpretation and ecological motifs are wrapped on the influence of diction on literary creativity—a lexical perspective that captures lack of responsibility, betrayal and dishonour for both humans and the surroundings. The semantic implication is deeply connected to eco-diction—a universalized literary choice and use of words, especially with regard to effective communication on ecocritical concerns visible in the deliberate depiction of accidental occurrences in the selected novel.